Centre notifies Kandla, JNPA, Mundra and Paradip as mega ports

Why in the News

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has notified four ports as mega ports under the Indian Ports Act, 2025, three of them major ports and one privately operated. This is the first use of the Act’s power to grade ports by size rather than by ownership. It places a privately run port in the same statutory class as ports the Union administers.

What is a mega port under the Indian Ports Act, 2025?

1. What it is: A mega port is a port the Centre puts in its highest class once it meets published scale criteria. It works like a size based star rating.
2. Why the Act provides for it: The Indian Ports Act, 2025 replaced the colonial era Indian Ports Act, 1908 and made a port’s class follow notified criteria rather than practice.
3. What the criteria say: The criteria were notified on 30 July 2026 after consulting State governments. The notification records only that all four ports meet them.
4. The takeaway: Size now decides which ports the Centre treats as nationally significant, so being a major port is no longer what puts a port in the top tier.

What exactly has been notified?

1. The major ports in the set: Deendayal (Kandla), Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) and Paradip are major ports, administered under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021.
2. Two routes, one notification: The three major ports were notified under Section 73(2), and Mundra under Section 73(3), the route for a port that is not a major port.
3. Who runs the fourth: Mundra is operated by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, a private company, not by a Union port authority.
4. When it takes effect: The notification was issued on 25 September 2026 and came into force when it was published in the Gazette of India.

Why does one private port in the class matter?

1. Two constitutional lists: Major ports fall under Entry 27 of the Union List and every other port under Entry 31 of the Concurrent List, so the two answer to different governments.
2. A State regulator for a mega port: Ports other than major ports in Gujarat are regulated by the Gujarat Maritime Board, so the Centre has graded a port it does not administer.
3. Scale of the private port: Mundra is the country’s largest privately operated port by cargo handled, which is why a class defined by size could not exclude it.

Challenges

1. One class, two regulators: A mega port in State jurisdiction is still licensed and charged tariffs by a State maritime board, so the new label changes no regulator.
2. Rail and road capacity binds: A port can unload more cargo than the rail lines and roads behind it carry away, so a higher class does not move cargo faster.
3. Concentration of traffic: Grading by size rewards ports that already dominate traffic, widening the gap with smaller ports competing for the same cargo.

Way Forward

1. Publish the score against each criterion: The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways should publish how each port scored on every notified criterion, so the class is auditable.
2. A common protocol with State boards: Agree one clearance and reporting protocol with State maritime boards for mega ports outside Union jurisdiction.
3. Tie the label to connectivity targets: Link mega port status to dated rail and road milestones under the Sagarmala programme, so grading pulls connectivity investment.
4. Fix a review cycle: Provide that a port failing the criteria on review loses the classification.

Conclusion

Port classification has moved from who owns a port to how much it handles, and the first list crosses the Union and State line. What to watch is what the class entitles a port to, and whether State maritime boards get a formal place in that decision.

Back2Basics: Major Port Authorities Act, 2021

1. What it replaced: The Act replaced the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 and converted port trusts into Port Authority Boards.
2. What it covers: It governs the major ports the Union administers, not ports in State jurisdiction.
3. Tariffs: Each Board fixes its own scale of rates instead of following a central tariff authority.
4. Composition: Each Board has independent members alongside State and central ministry representatives.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2023] 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? (a) Only one pair (b) Only two pairs (c) All three pairs (d) None of the pairs Answer: (b)”