Afloat at last

Converting port trusts into PSUs is a welcome start to their eventual corporatisation...

Trade is the surest indicator of the importance the seas retain. Even a rudimentary study of the volume and percentage of global trade carried on via maritime routes will unambiguously emphasise the need for using the seas and,in order to do so,putting in place all necessary infrastructure. And where seaborne trade is concerned,that infrastructure begins with the port,and encompasses shipbuilding,manpower training and so on. The decision to convert the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust into a public sector undertaking is the right stepping stone to the eventual corporatisation of all major port trusts. At present,India has only one corporatised port Ennore out of 12 major ports,the remaining 11 of which are governed by port trusts,while the 187 non-major ports many of which however are not functional too contribute to

Indias maritime trade. Given the Indian shipping sectors potential to fuel growth and the quantum of global maritime trade,clearly that is too little infrastructure,compounded by the lack of skilled manpower.

However,the problem is not merely one of tangible lacks. The infrastructure that exists and that which will be built will have to be efficiently managed. Therefore,corporatisation is a move to a better administrative model which will facilitate greater autonomy and profitability for individual ports. The practice of the Tariff

Authority for Major Ports imposing restrictive tariffs on port trusts under the Major Port Trusts Act 1963 and thereby shooting up port charges is an anachronism that will not help the ambitious National Maritime Development Programme which aims at modernisation and expansion of Indian ports through the public-private partnership model. Without significant capacity expansion targeted for a 1,200 million tonne enhancement by 2012 on the one hand and a ports freedom to fix tariffs and compete with other ports on the other,India will fail to profitably leverage its 7,500 km-plus coastline and the largest merchant fleet among developing nations which nevertheless is a negligible fraction of the global fleet.

Corporatisation of major port trusts into PSUs is therefore just a beginning,which must go all the way and see increasing investment of and management by private capital,whereby Indian ports can in future operate in a less protective and immensely more competitive environment. Along with expediting the NMDP,the need is to simultaneously develop shipbuilding and skills training. An integrated approach to ports,shipping and the inland waterways will see a manifold increase in Indias share of the global shipping tonnage and consequent benefits to the economy.