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The government on Thursday announced steps, including reducing certain charges at ports and purchase of five additional second-hand container vessels by SCI, to resolve shipping sector-related problems of exporters and importers. These measures were announced after a meeting of all the concerned stakeholders of the international trade segment, including senior officials of ministries like commerce and industry, shipping, ports, finance, civil aviation and railways; apex exporters body FIEO (federation of Indian export organisations), customs officials, freight forwarders, transport operators and shipping companies. Exporting community and experts have flagged shipping sector issues which are hurting the country's exports, which has contracted by 9.3 per cent in August. The issues figured in the discussions include container shortage, surge in ocean freight rate and shipping cost, shipping delays at the Indian ports, and turnaround time at the ports. Briefing media after the ...
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has approved wage structure revision for workers at major ports, an official statement said on Wednesday. According to the statement, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Bipartite Wage Negotiation Committee (BWNC) and the Indian Port Association (IPA), averting an indefinite strike that was set to disrupt operations across 12 major ports in India. The MoU facilitates the revision of the wage structure and addresses other service conditions, including pensionary benefits, it added. It was also agreed that the fitment benefit of 8.5 per cent on the aggregate amount of basic pay as of December 31, 2021, plus 30 per cent VDA (variable dearness allowance) as of January 1, 2022, will be granted. "The periodicity of the settlement is set for five years, from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026. "The new pay scales, effective from January 1, 2022, will be formulated according to existing practices," the statement ...
Cargo traffic at 12 major ports in the country grew 5.92 per cent to 70.08 million tonnes (MT) in July from 66.17 MT handled in the year-ago period, according to the data released by major ports' apex body Indian Ports Association. The data also showed that 10 of these major ports logged positive growth in cargo traffic handling, while the remaining two saw a negative growth, as per the IPA. The 12 major ports are Deendayal (Kandla), Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Ennore (Kamarajar), Tuticorin (VO Chidambaranar), Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia) and Jawaharlal Nehru Port. In July, IPA said Cochin Port registered the maximum cargo growth at 24.77 per cent, followed by Visakhapatnam Port (10.80 per cent) and JN Port (9.07 per cent). Chennai Port handled 8.89 per cent more traffic compared to July 2023, while cargo traffic at Deendayal Port and V O Chidambaranar Port grew 7.13 per cent and 6.74 per cent, respectively. Similarly, Paradip Port lo
The shipping ministry is working to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade to increase efficiency and reduce logistics costs at major ports, a senior government said on Saturday. In the landlord model, private players take over the operational aspects, while the port authority acts as a regulator and landlord. Speaking at CII Annual Business Summit 2024, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Secretary TK Ramachandran said Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) has become the first major port of the country to become 100 per cent landlord port, having all berths being operated on PPP model. The PPP (public-private partnership) model is considered an effective tool for attracting investment in the port sector. "We have 12 major ports, and we have a huge capacity...we want to shift to an 80 per cent landlord model by the end of this decade," Ramachandran said. He further said the four pillars that the Shipping ministry is working on to improve the cost and ease of doing busin
In a bid to conquer the top spot among major ports of the country, Paradip Port Trust is aiming at 150 million tonne of cargo handling this fiscal and implementing a strategy to raise its capacity to 500 mt by 2047, its chairman P L Haranadh said on Sunday. The port in Odisha is now second among all the 12 major ports in India, handling 135.36 million tonne of cargo in 2022-23, just 2.5 million tonne less than the top-notched Kandla port in Gujarat, he said. "The cargo handling target for the current fiscal is 150 million tonne. We may become the top port among the major ports of the country in terms of cargo handling if everything goes well," Paradip Port Chairman P L Haranadh told PTI in an interview. The strategy to increase the port's capacity utilisation includes "tariff freeze, an emphasis on coastal shipping for competitiveness, land allocation for port-led industrialisation, and expanding the cargo basket". Paradip Port, which has now mechanised 80 per cent of its berths,