Major ports of India : performance appraisal of selected financial parameters using correlation analysis

Abstract

Major ports of India play vital role in the economy and their contribution to the development of nation is reflected in the ever-growing quantities of cargo handled by them. India has 13 major ports and the overall cargo handled by all these ports stood to the tune of 930 MT in 2011-12. However, one of the major concerns for the government has been the performance standards of these ports which, unfortunately, are not in line of the expected efficiency levels. Major ports in India are running under multiple constraints like congestion, outdated technology, improper hinterland connectivity, and higher dependence on manual cargo handling procedures. At the same time, they are dependent on the government for their financing and investment decisions. It may be observed that the government is slowly releasing the major ports from clutches of its control. Privatisation of port services through PPP mode and granting of administrative autonomy to the management of the port trusts are two major steps taken by the government to improve the work efficiencies of the major ports. Result-oriented initiatives such as National Maritime Development Program 2007-2012 and Maritime Agenda: 2010-20, initiated by the ministry, to improve the infrastructural set-up at major ports are being implemented to increase the efficiencies among the major ports. The objective of the present study is to analyse the performance of major ports using some financial metrics during the period 1995-96 to 2010-11. It is quite interesting to note that all the major ports work with different efficiency levels and the study aspires to find about the performance levels of these ports on the basis of their financial performances. The study aims to find if there is any significant impact on the revenue generated by the ports and the ever-growing costs in handling the cargo.