The government has proposed to set up four new Major Ports viz. Enayam in Tamil Nadu, Sagar in West Bengal, Dugarajpatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Vadhawan in Maharashtra. Minister of State for shipping Pon Radhakrishnan informed Lok Sabha.

• He said that out of these the Cabinet has conveyed in-principle approval for setting up of Enayam Port in Tamil Nadu on 5th July, 2016. Assistance will be extended by the government based on their need.

• According to the Ministry of Shipping, around 95 per cent of India’s trading by volume and 70 per cent by value is done through maritime transport. It is serviced by 13 major ports, 200 notified minor and intermediate ports.

Background-

The nine coastal Indian states Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and  West Bengal are home to all major and minor ports of India.

 There are total 13 major sea ports of India, out of 12 are government and one, Ennore port of Chennai is the corporate one. Ennore Port is one of the major port of India located at Coromandel Coast of Tamil Nadu state along with private Krishnapatnam Port.

Some major ports-

1. Kandla Port- Gujarat   2. Nhava Sheva- Maharashtra Mumbai Port   3. Marmagao port- Goa 4. Panambur Port- Karnataka   5. Cochin Port- Kerala   6. Port Blair- Andaman   7. Tuticorin Port- Tamil Nadu Chennai Port   8. Vizag Port- Andhra Pradesh   9. Paradip Port- Orissa   10. Haldia port- West Bengal