While the Indian shipping industry burgeoned under the rule of the British East India Company and British Empire, post-Independence has brought exponential growth to many aspects the Republic’s economy.
According to the International Monetary Fund’s April 2017 World Economic Outlook database update, India is the seventh largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the third largest in terms of purchasing power parity.
With a coastline of about 7,517 kilometers, India is also considered the 16th largest maritime country in the world. And with around 95 percent of India’s trading by volume coming via maritime transport, the nation’s shipping industry has continually registered positive growth statistics, regardless of international trends and downturns.
Growth Snapshot.
According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, India has 12 major and 200 notified minor and intermediate ports. Cargo traffic, which reached 1,052 million metric tons (MMT) in 2015, is expected to grow to 1,758 MMT by 2017 and these shipping stats from June 2017 support the prediction.
This piece was originally published in industry trade publication, American Shipper. To view this piece in its entirety, click here.