India’s east coast handles a higher volume. But the west coast has better economic outcome

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[00:00:20][cough] [clears throat] >> Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme related documents carefully. Hello and welcome to The Print. This is Vidisha and you're watching Economics.

[00:00:50]Let me begin with a slightly counterintuitive idea today.

[00:00:54]Sometimes doing more doesn't mean earning more.

[00:00:58]And nowhere is this paradox clearer than along India's coastline.

[00:01:04]Now we often talk about India's economic divides as north versus south or urban versus rural, but there's another divide, far less discussed yet incredibly important.

[00:01:17]It runs not really across the land but along the sea.

[00:01:20]India has a coastline stretching over 11,000 km and here's why that matters.

[00:01:27]Nearly 95% of our trade by volume and about 68% by value moves through this maritime boundary.

[00:01:37]So in theory this vast coastline should act like an equalizer, spreading growth evenly across regions.

[00:01:45]But in reality it does the exact opposite. Today India's economic dynamism is heavily concentrated along the western coast.

[00:01:56]Think of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

[00:01:58]These regions dominate exports, industrial output and private investment.

[00:02:04]The Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor has effectively become the backbone of manufacturing growth.

[00:02:11]Meanwhile the eastern coast, despite its own natural advantages, has simply not kept pace. Yes, there are geographical differences.

[00:02:22]The western coast benefits from deeper natural harbors and relatively calmer seas while the eastern coast faces a wider continental shelf and greater exposure to cyclones.

[00:02:35]But here's the key point.

[00:02:37]Globally, ports operate under far more challenging conditions. So geography alone cannot explain this divergence, although policy and integration can.

[00:02:50]And this is where the story gets really interesting. At the first glance the data doesn't raise any red flags. In fact, it almost suggests balance.

[00:03:01]In the financial year of 2024-25 India's major ports handled about 854 million tons of cargo.

[00:03:10]And if you look at the chart on your screen it reinforces this illusion beautifully.

[00:03:16]You see comparable volumes moving through both coasts almost as if the system is working perfectly fine.

[00:03:24]But here's the catch and this is extremely crucial.

[00:03:28]In economics what you produce or what you transport matters far more than how much you do.

[00:03:35]Eastern ports like Paradip, Haldia and Visakhapatnam primarily deal with bulk commodities, coal, iron ore, fertilizers.

[00:03:45]Now these are essential but they sit at the lower end of the value chain.

[00:03:51]There's very little value addition there.

[00:03:53]On the other hand, western ports are deeply embedded in containerized trade and export-oriented manufacturing.

[00:04:02]They are plugged into global supply chains. So even if both coasts handle similar volumes as the chart suggests, the value they generate is vastly different.

[00:04:15]Think of it like this.

[00:04:16]One region is shipping raw ingredients while the other is exporting finished products.

[00:04:22]And naturally the latter earns more.

[00:04:25]This brings us to what I would like to call as the illusion of balance. On paper the eastern coast actually handles slightly more cargo, about 52% compared to 48% on the western coast, but outcomes tell a very different story.

[00:04:44]And that's because the issue is not underinvestment, it's underintegration.

[00:04:49]Let me explain this in detail.

[00:04:52]Ports don't operate in isolation. Their success depends on how well they are connected to factories, to roads and railways, to logistics parks and to even cities.

[00:05:04]On the western coast this integration is far more developed.

[00:05:09]Ports are embedded within industrial corridors, urban clusters and efficient logistics networks.

[00:05:16]On the eastern coast this ecosystem is fragmented.

[00:05:21]The ports are active, yes, but their hinterland connections are relatively weaker.

[00:05:27]And industrial clustering is very limited.

[00:05:31]And in economics fragmentation is costly. Even something as technical as port efficiency tells the story. The average turnaround time at Indian ports is around 49 hours.

[00:05:45]But Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru port does it in roughly 26 hours while Kolkata can take over 80 hours.

[00:05:54]Now that difference may sound small but in global trade time literally translates into money.

[00:06:01]Delays increase costs and higher costs discourage investment. There's also some fascinating modeling evidence here.

[00:06:10]When you improve just one piece of the puzzle, say roads or special economic zones, the gains are quite modest.

[00:06:19]But when you combine infrastructure, trade reforms and connectivity the impact sort of multiplies.

[00:06:26]In West Bengal for instance, isolated improvements raise GDP by a few percentage points.

[00:06:33]But when they're integrated the increase jumps to over 7.6%.

[00:06:38]That's the power of coordination or to put it simply, connectivity without coordination doesn't really deliver growth. So the question is, what needs to change?

[00:06:49]First, we need to stop thinking of the eastern coast as just a collection of ports.

[00:06:56]It has to be treated as an integrated economic system.

[00:07:00]Second, last mile connectivity.

[00:07:04]Those final links between ports and production centers must become a policy priority, not just an afterthought.

[00:07:12]Third, and perhaps most importantly, we need industrial clustering near eastern ports.

[00:07:20]Ports generate real value only when they are tied to manufacturing ecosystems.

[00:07:26]Otherwise they remain transit points rather than just engines of growth.

[00:07:30]Fourth, trade facilitation, especially reducing non-tariff barriers, can unlock significant gains. And finally, efficiency matters.

[00:07:41]Turnaround times, digitalization, coordination between agencies, these aren't just technical details, they are signals that shape investor behavior.

[00:07:52]Let me leave you with one final thought.

[00:07:55]Right now the east moves India's inputs while the west captures the outcomes.

[00:08:02]Bridging this gap is not just about regional fairness. It's about unlocking India's next phase of economic growth.

[00:08:10]Because the real question is, will India's coastline remain just a boundary on the map or can it become a catalyst for growth?

[00:08:20]That answer will define the country's economic future.

[00:08:24]Thank you for watching.

[00:08:26]>> [music] [bell]