The BJP has always pushed international trade to further its economic progress. For that to happen, the entry and exit points for goods into India need to be developed and upgraded, as well as processes streamlined. With all this in the backdrop, the news that India’s major ports have added a record 94 million tonne (MT) capacity, which also earned Rs 4268 crore, looks like excellent progress.
For a long time now, even before the BJP came to power, India has been sitting on the fringes of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum membership. This could well result in an eventual seat on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. There are obstacles, but not those that are unsurmountable. If India were to get on these two forums, trade will increase substantially. One could well see economic progress shoot up. This might also see India invited into the FTAAP, the freetrade area of Asia Pacific.
But to do that, India would need to sort out a few things. An important issue that needs to be sorted, with proper scrutiny, is Goods and Services Tax. The United States has been pushing for this and economic reform in India for a while now. There has been some bilateral friction but that can pass if India toes the line, accelerates the ‘ease of doing business’ initiative and starts forging bilateral investment treaties with countries in the APEC. What does this have to do with increased capacity in ports and streamlined processes? Everything!
The current way of doing business needs to be changed; red tape, bureaucracy and other obstacles have to be done away with. All these reasons, and more, have been the cause for reluctance to bring the country into APEC and beyond. Now that India has allotted projects worth Rs 72,818 crore for modernisation and development of ports, there is hope that better infrastructure will also ensure better practices too. At a recent talk in Goa, Arjuna Ranatunga, former cricket captain, now the minister for ports and shipping in Sri Lanka, stated that this industry was one of the most corrupt industries across the world. Other countries have managed to clean up the system; India must do the same here too.
There is also the matter of port security. In January this year, 1200 port passes went missing from Goa’s Mormugao Port Trust. The leak hasn’t yet been discovered, but the port authorities were quick to remedy the matter by planning the introduction of RFID cards for all employees, as well as those indirectly employed in shipping in Goa, those who visit the port as drivers, etc. The safety of goods is paramount.
The country has yet to exploit its waterways properly. There is still a lot of navigable waterways that should be explored. This might certainly supplement the already existing networks of trade and transport in India. The 12 major ports of India have certainly showed a lot of progress but it’s now time for the smaller ports to catch up.
Care must be taken however, when upgrading and developing ports, to ensure that all environmental measures are taken, so as not to pollute or destroy the green spaces around. Economic progress does not make sense when there is no environmental protection afforded to the area. If all this is taken care of, India’s ports and shipping industry will flourish.
