India boasts a long coastline of more than 7,517 km in length. The Indian port industry includes 13 major (12 government and 1 corporate) and about 200 non-major ports. The capacity of ports in India by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan is targeted to increase to 2,493.10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as compared to 1,245.30 MTPA at the end of the 11th Five Year Plan. India's major ports, which look after approximately 61 per cent of the country's total cargo traffic, handled 413.01 million tonnes (MT) of cargo during April-December 2013 as compared to 405.28 MT over the corresponding period in 2012, registering a growth of 1.91 per cent.
Container traffic at the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) has registered the maximum growth of 11 per cent among 12 major ports during the period April-December 2013 as compared to the corresponding period in 2012. The container terminal handled around 3.7 MT of cargo during the period. The Indian ports sector received foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 1,635.08 million between April 2000 and October 2013, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
India's growing port/shipping sector is expected to witness some major merger and acquisitions (M&A) in 2014 as more and more investors are pouring in. Cargo traffic at major ports in India is expected to increase by 4 per cent in 2013-14. Cargo volume swelled up to 567 MT from 545 MT in 2012-2013. A healthy rise in freight volume of petroleum, oil and lubricants and coal is likely to support the growth of the Indian port/shipping industry.
INDIAN SHIPPING INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE IN 2013 - 2014 
