Maritime ports in India - statistics & facts
With one of the longest coastlines in the world, India sits at the intersection of some of the busiest ocean shipping routes, yet has yet to fully capitalize on this advantage. However, over the last decade, through continuous investments from both public and private sectors, Indian ports have seen steady growth in the volume of freight, despite the decrease in freight volume in financial year 2021 caused by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Where most of India's trade reaches shore
There are 12 major ports and over 200 non-major ports in the country, now governed by Boards of Major Port Authority under India's central government. They undertake the majority of India's maritime trade. Among these ports, Paradip Port and Deendayal Port, located in Odisha and Gujarat respectively, hold the largest shares of cargo handled. Among the privately operated ports, Adani Ports and SEZ Limited's Mundra Port, also in Gujarat, handles the highest cargo volume. Gujarat's non-major ports processed the highest freight traffic among all states.
A sea change in policy ambitions
In 2015, the Indian government launched the Sagarmala Program, meaning "the garland of the sea." It is an ambitious initiative for port-led development as well as growth of related logistic hubs. Private operators have become central to this expansion. Adani Ports and SEZ Limited, the country's largest private port operator, saw its revenue more than double between fiscal years 2021 and 2025. The ports and shipping sector is also allowed for 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) under both government and automatic routes.
The Great Nicobar project
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands sit closer to the Strait of Malacca than to mainland India, giving them a natural advantage as a potential transshipment hub. Yet their non-major ports handled just about two million metric tons of cargo in fiscal year 2025, a volume that has remained nearly flat since the previous year. The government has identified the islands as a strategic maritime node under both the Sagarmala Program and the broader Maritime India Vision 2030, with plans for a transshipment port at Great Nicobar.
India's major ports handled around 13.6 million TEUs of container traffic in fiscal year 2025, yet a significant share of Indian container cargo is still routed through Colombo and Singapore for transshipment. Proponents argue the Great Nicobar port could help recapture that freight, turning a remote archipelago into a competitive link in global shipping lanes. The project however has drawn criticism over the viability of the transshipment hub, environmental impact on one of India's most biodiverse regions, and the consequences for indigenous communities.
