Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday, 27 July 2026 congratulated Deendayal Port, Kandla for handling 7,83,816 metric tonnes of cargo in a single day, calling it a new national record among all major ports in India.

Context

In his post, Sonowal stated: 'Congratulations to Team Deendayal Port, Kandla on handling 7,83,816 MT of cargo in a single day, a new National Record among all Major Ports.' He attributed the achievement to 'operational excellence and infrastructure upgrades' driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for port-led development.

Deendayal Port, located at Kandla in Gujarat, is one of India's oldest and highest-volume cargo handling facilities. It handles a wide range of bulk, liquid, and containerised cargo and has historically ranked among the top performers across India's 12 major ports.

Policy Backdrop

The record comes against the backdrop of sustained central government investment in maritime infrastructure. The Sagarmala Project, launched in 2015, was designed to promote port-led economic development, improve coastal connectivity, and reduce logistics costs for Indian exporters and importers.

The government followed this with Maritime India Vision 2030, released in 2021, which laid out a comprehensive roadmap for capacity expansion, mechanisation, and operational reform across major ports. The same year, the Major Port Authorities Act 2021 granted greater operational and financial autonomy to India's 12 major ports, enabling faster decision-making on infrastructure projects and tariff structures.

India has pursued systematic berth additions, equipment upgrades, and rail-road connectivity improvements at its major ports over the past decade, with the stated goal of raising throughput and improving the country's standing in global logistics indices.

Stakeholders and Impact

Port operators, exporters, and the broader logistics sector stand to benefit from rising single-day throughput benchmarks. Higher handling capacity translates directly into faster cargo turnaround, reduced vessel waiting times, and lower per-unit logistics costs — factors that affect the competitiveness of Indian goods in international markets.

For Gujarat, which hosts several major and minor ports, records at Kandla reinforce the state's centrality to India's maritime trade. The achievement also sets a performance benchmark that other major ports — spread across Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and elsewhere — may seek to match or surpass.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to whether Deendayal Port can sustain and build on this single-day throughput figure, and whether other major ports announce competing records as infrastructure upgrades mature. Progress on Maritime India Vision 2030 targets — including capacity expansion projects and port connectivity corridors — will serve as the broader measure of India's port modernisation drive.

Sonowal's ministry is expected to use milestones such as this to reinforce the government's port-led development narrative ahead of ongoing infrastructure policy reviews.