Are India's port upgrades genuinely closing the efficiency gap with global peers?
India's major ports have nearly doubled cargo-handling capacity, from 873 million metric tonnes annually in 2014 to 1,728 million tonnes now, while average vessel turnaround time has improved from 94 hours to 48.8 hours. These are substantial efficiency gains by India's own historical standard. Whether this brings India's ports in line with the fastest global peers, some of which report turnaround times well under 24 hours, is a separate and more demanding benchmark.
Major ports' cargo-handling capacity nearly doubled, from 873 million tonnes annually in 2014 to 1,728 million tonnes now.
Average vessel turnaround time improved from 94 hours to 48.8 hours over the past decade or so.
Some of the world's most efficient ports report turnaround times considerably faster than India's current average.