Examine the role of process reforms such as One Nation One Port Process and the Maritime Single Window in improving India's port competitiveness.

A port competes mainly on how long a ship's call takes and what it costs. Average turnaround time at Major Ports fell from 96 hours (2014) to 49.5 hours (2025) [3]. Much of the delay that remains comes from paperwork and the many agencies involved, not from a lack of berths. The 21st MSDC (Mumbai, 2026) set March 2027 as the deadline to bring all ports under the One Nation One Port Process (ONOP) and the Maritime Single Window "Sagar Setu" [1]. Both reforms can help a great deal, but only if the States implement them and the port data can be trusted.

What the reforms do

• ONOP has three parts: One Nation One Documentation, Port Process Re-engineering and Inter-ministerial Process Reforms [1].
• Sagar Setu is one digital window for port clearances, so operators do not have to deal with each agency separately. A Ready Reckoner brings together the circulars of CBIC, MHA and MoHFW (customs, immigration and port health) [1].
• New guidelines require ports to publish their tariffs electronically, and a standard Port Master Plan template has been extended to non-major ports [1].

How they improve competitiveness

• Shorter dwell time and lower logistics cost: fewer documents and processes running in parallel cut the time ships spend idle.
• Predictability: the same documents at every port and published tariffs make it easier to do business for shipping lines and exporters.
• Reach beyond Major Ports: India has 217 non-major ports, and Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha hold over 93% of their capacity [2]. Common processes carry the efficiency gains made at Major Ports to these State ports.
• Benchmarking: standard data makes it possible to rank ports and States against each other.

Limitations

• Federal dependence: States must notify their rules under Section 77 of the Indian Ports Act, 2025 within three months. The MSDC is only a consultative body, so it cannot force them to act [1].
• Data reliability: the CAG found that most Major Ports were recording pre-berthing detention and turnaround time incorrectly [4]. If ports report on themselves with no outside check, rankings can be distorted.
• Physical bottlenecks remain: the CAG traced detentions to shallow drafts and poor dredging [4]. Better processes cannot fix these.

Way forward

• Publish each State's ONOP and Section 77 progress publicly.
• Require independent audits of turnaround and tariff data.
• Give targeted technical help to the four States that hold most capacity and to States with weak maritime boards.
• Carry out ONOP alongside Sagarmala's work on dredging and connectivity.

ONOP and Sagar Setu replace a patchwork of procedures with one common, digital process. Process reform adds to physical capacity; it does not replace it. If States implement on time and the data is verified, these reforms can deliver cooperative federalism in practice and help achieve Maritime India Vision 2030's goal of globally competitive ports.

(~400 words: over the 350-word limit)