India’s ports are getting super efficient. But China’s are doing better

World Bank’s recent rankings show India’s ports are picking up speed after ages of lethargy. It’s great, but China is widening the gap really fast

As a journalist in Mumbai in 1988, I could see from my office window a long line of ships waiting to get into Mumbai port. The waiting time could be a shocking 28 days. The idling of the ships was matched – indeed, caused – by idling port workers backed by powerful trade unions.
A 1990 study by World Bank expert Hans Jurgen Peters found that the fastest way to unload a ship in Mumbai was to pay the unionised workers to stay at home, and hire private workers to do the job. What a travesty.

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This article was originally published by The Times of India on September 25 2024.

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