UPSC Prelims 2023 Q2: Kamarajar, Mundra, Visakhapatnam Ports Explained
Consider the following pairs:
(Port : Well known as)
1. Kamarajar Port : First major port in India registered as a company
2. Mundra Port : Largest privately owned port in India
3. Visakhapatnam Port : Largest container port in India
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
- Only one pair
- Only two pairs
- All three pairs
- None of the pairs
Answer: (b) Only two pairs
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — Kamarajar Port, earlier called Ennore Port, was declared a major port in March 1999. In October 1999 it was incorporated as Ennore Port Limited under the Companies Act, 1956, which made it the first major port set up as a company. The other major ports were run as Port Trusts, and are now Port Authorities under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021. Kamarajar Port is still the only major port run as a company. Since Chennai Port bought the Centre's stake in March 2020, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Chennai Port.
- 2: correct — Mundra Port is on the northern shore of the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. It is run by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd and is a non-major port under the Gujarat Maritime Board. It is the largest privately owned port in India. It is also India's largest commercial port by cargo handled: over 150 million tonnes a year in recent years, more than any major port.
- 3: incorrect — Visakhapatnam is a major port in Andhra Pradesh. It is known mainly for bulk cargo such as iron ore, coal and crude oil, and it has India's deepest landlocked, protected harbour. It is not India's largest container port. Among major ports, that title belongs to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) near Mumbai, which handled a record 5.68 million TEUs in 2021-22. Counting all ports, Mundra's container volumes are the only ones that rival JNPA's.
How to eliminate
Pair 3 is the one you can rule out with basic knowledge. Every textbook and news report calls JNPA (Nhava Sheva) India's largest container port, and the west coast handles most of India's container trade. That means 'All three pairs' is out. Pair 2 is also common knowledge from news coverage of the Adani group: Mundra is the best-known private port. With pair 2 right and pair 3 wrong, the answer is either 'Only one pair' or 'Only two pairs'. Which one depends entirely on pair 1, and only the fact settles it: Ennore (Kamarajar) was India's first, and is still its only, major port incorporated as a company under the Companies Act. Remember the 'corporate port' tag for Kamarajar. A useful habit: in 'how many pairs' questions, first lock in the pairs you are sure of, then spend your doubt only on the rest.
Know more
Major vs non-major ports. Under the Constitution, major ports are in the Union List and non-major (minor) ports are in the Concurrent List. The Centre runs the 12 operational major ports through the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Eleven of them are Port Authorities under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021, which replaced the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. The twelfth, Kamarajar, is a company under the Companies Act and a subsidiary of Chennai Port. Non-major ports are run by state maritime boards. Many of them, such as Mundra, Pipavav, Krishnapatnam and Dhamra, are operated privately.
| Port | State | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) | Maharashtra | Largest container port among major ports |
| Deendayal (Kandla) | Gujarat | Largest major port by cargo volume; tidal port |
| Mundra | Gujarat | Largest private port; largest commercial port by cargo |
| Kamarajar (Ennore) | Tamil Nadu | First and only corporatised major port |
| Visakhapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | Deepest landlocked, protected harbour; bulk cargo |
| Paradip | Odisha | Major bulk port on the east coast (coal, ore) |
| Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Kolkata) | West Bengal | Riverine port; Haldia dock complex |
| V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin) | Tamil Nadu | Southernmost major port on the east coast |
| Vizhinjam | Kerala | First dedicated container transshipment port |
| Vadhavan | Maharashtra | New deep-draft greenfield major port |
Container port vs bulk port. Container traffic is counted in TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). Bulk cargo such as coal, ore and crude oil is counted in tonnes. A port can be large in tonnes and small in TEUs, which is the trap in pair 3. Corporatisation means running a port as a company. It gives the port commercial flexibility, including raising funds from markets. It is a recurring policy theme in port reform.
In the news
Ports were in the news in 2022-23. Adani Ports and its flagship Mundra port drew attention after the Hindenburg report in January 2023. The Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 had just taken effect, leaving Kamarajar as the only major port run as a company. Port records, such as JNPA's record container volumes, also appeared in PIB releases.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Kamarajar Port: Pair 1 tests how Kamarajar (Ennore) Port is set up and owned, not just where it is.
- Mundra port: Pair 2 depends on who owns Mundra and how big it is compared with other Indian ports.
- Visakhapatnam Port: Pair 3 asks what kind of cargo Visakhapatnam is mainly known for handling.
- Chennai Port: Kamarajar's ownership is linked to Chennai Port, its neighbouring and older major port.