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Agribusiness, Biofuel industry, Company News, Finance, Schemes - Banks

Funding will be used for company’s upcoming 12 TPD Compressed Biogas (CBG) Plant at Ajbapur Sugar Unit in the state of U.P.

DCM Shriram Ltd, a leading conglomerate with diverse business presence in Chlor-Vinyl, Agri-Rural, and Value-Added Businesses, announced the successful tie up of its sustainable finance facility in the form of transition finance of Rs 100 crores from Standard Chartered Bank, India to fund its upcoming 12 TPD Compressed Biogas (CBG) Plant at Ajbapur Sugar Unit in the state of U.P.

This investment further reinforces the company’s commitment towards circular economy and sustainability. CBG will be produced using ‘Pressmud’ as a feed stock – a waste generated in the sugar manufacturing process. The state-of-the-art plant has been designed as a Zero Effluent Discharge Plant.

Amit Agarwal, Executive Director & Group CFO of DCM Shriram Ltd, said, “This is our second sustainable finance transaction in last 6 months, which underscores our unwavering commitment to assimilating ESG principles into our business philosophy and driving positive impact while generating value for our stakeholders. This also underpins our belief that Business success goes hand to hand with environmental stewardship, embodying our commitment to a more sustainable future.”

Shobana Chawla, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance, Standard Chartered Bank, India, said, “Sustainable financing continues to be one of the strategic priorities at Standard Chartered Bank. We have been assisting our clients transition to net zero, and at a group level have committed to mobilise USD 300 billion in Sustainable Finance by 2030. This facility to DCM Shriram is one such initiative.”

This collaboration between DCM Shriram Ltd and Standard Chartered Bank signifies a shared commitment towards fostering sustainability and responsible business practices, further solidifying their dedication to more responsible future.

Funding will be used for company’s upcoming

Agribusiness, Company News, Warehousing

Maersk’s new facility will provide end-to-end supply chain solutions, including storage, inventory management, and distribution, serving global and local customers.

A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) inaugurated its brand-new warehouse in Sri Lanka at Wattala, spread over 100,000 sq. ft. Present at the inauguration were Vikash Agarwal, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia, Biju Ravi, Head of Maersk Sri Lanka and Dr Parakrama Dissanayake – Deputy Chairman & Managing Director, Aitken Spence PLC and other leaders. This new facility is a testament to Maersk’s commitment to providing integrated supply chain solutions, offering a strategic advantage for various global customers and local suppliers in the retail and lifestyle sector.

“Our new warehouse in Sri Lanka represents a strategic milestone in our commitment to strengthen our operations in the country. By leveraging Sri Lanka’s growing prominence as a logistics hub and investing in infrastructure that our customers have shown interest in, Maersk aims to deliver unparalleled value to its clients while contributing to Sri Lanka’s economic growth and development”, said Vikash Agarwal, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia.

Strategically located in Wattala, a mere 11 km from the seaport, Maersk’s new facility is poised to leverage Sri Lanka’s advantageous geographical position as a vital hub for trade routes connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. With the country’s thriving trade sector and government initiatives to improve infrastructure and ease of doing business, Sri Lanka presents an ideal environment for Maersk to strengthen its presence in this strategic market.

The 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse offers export consolidation and 3PL services, with 50,000 sq. ft dedicated to each. Maersk’s new facility will provide end-to-end supply chain solutions, including storage, inventory management, and distribution, serving global and local customers. The 3PL facility allows suppliers to store their cargo and move quickly to consolidation points without losing time. Maersk’s next-door empty yard provides faster movement of containers into the consolidation point and then to the port. This new warehouse will be able to serve almost the entire Colombo market within four hours.

Maersk's new facility will provide end-to-end supply

Agrotech, Farm Mechanisation, India, Machinery - Pre-harvesting, Machinery – Post-harvesting, R&D

 MVS will serve as a key platform for various functions, including ergonomics simulation, user experience testing of controls, customer clinics and design reviews for product development teams.

CNH, a global leader in agricultural and construction solutions, announced the addition of a cutting-edge Multi-Vehicle Simulator (MVS) at the company’s India Technology Center (ITC). The first-of-its-kind MVS in the Indian off-highway segment will play a pivotal role in CNH’s global operations. This will serve as a key platform for various functions, including ergonomics simulation, user experience testing of controls, customer clinics, design reviews for product development teams, product validation and employee training.

Speaking at the inauguration, Friedrich Eichler, Chief Technology Officer, CNH, said, “The expansion and enhancement of our India Technology Center (ITC) exemplify our unwavering commitment to innovation, harnessing India’s rich talent pool. This strategic move reflects our dedication to leveraging top-notch expertise to drive technological advancements in the agricultural and construction sectors in the region for the region. The ITC is a cornerstone of CNH’s commitment to deliver technologically advanced products to our customers.”

“This technological advancement also supports our sustainability goals by helping us reduce waste and improve quality by testing and evaluating our products in the virtual world before developing a prototype or testing them in the real world,” he added.

The Simulator is equipped with advanced features such as body tracking sensors, virtual reality headsets and devices, multiple display screens, video and audio conference capture and playback systems, related software, Software – Hardware integration, and an adjustable frame to replicate various cabs.

“The new Multi-Vehicle Simulator is a significant advancement in our R&D capabilities at the ITC,” said Ashish Sharma, Vice President and Managing Director – ITC, CNH. “With its cutting-edge features and versatile applications, it will empower our teams to innovate and refine our products to meet the evolving needs of our customers. This development is a further step towards CNH’s vision to position India as a key technology location, in addition to its role as an industrial hub.”

The company also announced an expansion of the ITC. The new floor, spanning 32,000 square feet is equipped with high-tech amenities including three R&D labs as well as collaborative work areas. The modern design and advanced technology in this new space will enhance the working environment and boost productivity of the teams.

Established in 2021, the ITC plays a strategic role in forging collaborative efforts with its sister R&D centers around the world to innovate and leverage the leading-edge technology and digital ecosystem in India, with increased efficiency to benefit customers. The center develops groundbreaking technologies, including software, embedded electronics, and data analytics, to support CNH’s India business as well as its global product portfolio.

 MVS will serve as a key platform

Company News, Vegetables, World

Produce packing innovation extends shelf-life, replaces ice, and creates transport efficiencies

Verdant Technologies is expanding the adoption of its HarvestHold Fresh product in Canada to improve the sustainability and efficiency of the North American broccoli supply chain. HarvestHold Fresh is an in-box sheet that uses an industry-standard ingredient, widely used in commodities like apples and flowers for more than two decades to extend freshness and shelf-life. HarvestHold Fresh is placed in produce boxes immediately after harvest to slow ripening and maturation so that produce can maintain its vitality and taste for longer. This innovation eliminates the need for ice when transporting broccoli, significantly reducing water use and optimizing space, which creates a more sustainable method of shelf-life preservation and makes transportation more efficient.

Empire Company Limited, parent company of Sobeys Inc. was the first major grocery retailer in North America to adopt the technology. Since 2022, Empire’s growing partners have been using the ice-less HarvestHold technology in bunch broccoli packing in Quebec and Ontario at its Sobeys, IGA, Foodland, and FreschCo banner stores. The collaboration is a major development in building a more sustainable and efficient broccoli supply chain. In 2024, the partners plan to expand nationally as part of a new supply chain innovation and sustainability initiative.

Produce packing innovation extends shelf-life, replaces ice,

Company News, People

Yu served as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Yara International

Royal Agrifirm Group has appointed Doris Yu as Managing Director of Asia. Yu has more than 20 years of experience in the food and agriculture industry and will be responsible for overseeing Agrifirm’s business in the Asia region.

Royal Agrifirm Group, a global agricultural company, has announced that Doris Yu has joined Agrifirm as its Managing Director in Asia, from a career that includes leadership positions at global companies such as Cargill and Royal DSM. Most recently, Yu served as Senior Vice President and General Manager at Yara International. With a track record of strategic leadership and business development, Doris Yu is positioned to lead Agrifirm’s team in advancing the company’s strategy and growth initiatives in Asia.

The appointment of Doris Yu comes as Jeroen Jeuken, Managing Director Asia, prepares to pursue other opportunities after nearly a decade of dedicated and committed service at Agrifirm. Under Jeuken’s leadership, the Asian region has achieved significant milestones in business development and growth, setting the foundation for further progress. He has played a pivotal role in navigating Agrifirm through significant challenges in Asia, including the complexities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the African swine fever outbreak. Agrifirm states that it extends its sincere gratitude to Jeroen for his contributions and wishes him the very best in his future endeavours.

Yu served as Senior Vice President and

Agbiologicals, Company News, Fungicides

Maxentis delivers dependable control of Septoria, Yellow Rust, and Brown Rust in wheat; Leaf Blotch, Net Blotch, and Rust in barley

ADAMA Ltd., a leading crop protection company, has announced the launch of Maxentis, a new versatile fungicide that delivers reliable control over a broad range of diseases in wheat, barley, and oilseed rape, to increase yields and improve income.

Maxentis delivers dependable control of Septoria, Yellow Rust, and Brown Rust in wheat; Leaf Blotch, Net Blotch, and Rust in barley; and Sclerotinia and Alternaria in OSR, helping bring peace of mind to farmers while simplifying and reducing the expense of their spray programs. In high-potential wheat areas, Maxentis can be used as a T1 application in a spray program with other fungicides, or as a standalone T1 or T2 broad-spectrum product in lower-potential areas. The non-SDHI formulation makes it an excellent partner for spraying programs, allowing farmers the flexibility to use an SDHI combination at the critical flag leaf stage of the wheat.

Two modes of action are combined to enhance the impact of Maxentis. This means that fungal diseases are controlled across multiple growth stages of the disease, resulting in greater efficacy and healthier crops.

Maxentis improves yields, while the ability to control numerous diseases in multiple crops with a single product increases convenience, reduces complexity and lowers costs, resulting in increased income for farmers.

Maxentis delivers dependable control of Septoria, Yellow Rust,

Agro chems – Chemicals, Company News, World

Neogen Farm Fluid MAX can be used in a variety of applications for the general disinfection of both indoor and outdoor animal housing, as well as in wheel and boot dips with minimal degradation by direct sunlight

Neogen Corporation announced that it has launched Neogen Farm Fluid MAX in Great Britain and will soon be available in other European markets, subject to global registrations and notifications. This dual-action disinfectant is designed for challenging farm conditions and is formulated for use as part of a Neogen Pathogen Programme.

An extension of the respected Farm Fluid product line, Neogen Farm Fluid MAX is specially designed to be applied as part of coccidiosis control protocols. It is proven to challenge and destroy oocysts, breaking the protozoa cycle and inactivating up to 100 per cent of sporulated and non-sporulated oocysts. At 2 per cent dilution, the disinfectant has demonstrated effectiveness on multiple field strains of Eimeria oocysts, including E. tenella, E. maxima, and E acervulina.

“Farm Fluid MAX is a robust and powerful solution, demonstrating our commitment to providing the highest-quality products for our customers around the world,” said Andy Hughes, Senior Director of Animal Safety, EMEA, at Neogen. “We have formulated this disinfectant with chlorocresol (CMK), a second biocide, and other supportive ingredients, including a solvent for increased solubility and a surfactant, making it the ideal solution for combating difficult farm environments.”

Neogen Farm Fluid MAX can be used in a variety of applications for the general disinfection of both indoor and outdoor animal housing, as well as in wheel and boot dips with minimal degradation by direct sunlight.

Neogen Farm Fluid MAX can be used

Poultry, Supply Chain, Trade

Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with India for the import of poultry eggs but not for poultry meat

Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced that given a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh State in India, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry eggs from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with India for the import of poultry eggs but not for poultry meat. According to the Census and Statistics Department, no eggs were imported into Hong Kong from India last year.

“The CFS has contacted the Indian authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.

Hong Kong has currently established a protocol

Agribusiness, Agro chems – Chemicals, Agrotech, Company News, India

With SAP S/4HANA Greenfield, BAL will harness advanced analytics, machine learning, and automation capabilities, thereby bolstering decision-making and fostering innovation across the organisation.

Best Agrolife ltd announced a significant advancement in its digital journey through the successful integration of SAP S/4HANA Greenfield into its systems. This move signals a major stride towards optimizing operations, improving efficiency, and driving analytics-based growth for the company. This integration marks a comprehensive reengineering of the company’s digital infrastructure, facilitating streamlined processes, real-time insights, and heightened agility in responding to the dynamic agrochemical market demands.

With SAP S/4HANA Greenfield, Best Agrolife Ltd (BAL) will harness advanced analytics, machine learning, and automation capabilities, thereby bolstering decision-making and fostering innovation across the organisation. By consolidating finance, supply chain, manufacturing, and sales functions onto a unified platform, the company gains enhanced visibility and control over its entire value chain.

Vimal Alawadi, MD of BAL, said “The adoption of SAP S/4HANA Greenfield represents a transition point in our digital journey. In addition to embracing formulation and technical innovation, we will walk the path of digitization. We recognise the value of analytics, digitisation, integrated operations and need for real time data for business intelligence. Our goal will be to maximize customer delight and shareholder value.”

The successful implementation was facilitated by the partnering with Samishti Infotech. Samishti Infotech played the crucial role in ensuring a seamless integration process and smoothing the transition of SAP S/4HANA greenfield into the company’s systems.

N Surendra Sai, Head of Strategy and International Business at BAL, spearheaded the implementation of this project. With three decades of experience encompassing Organizational Program Management, Business Analytics, Innovation, Startup Culture, and Technology. Sai has held leadership roles in both private and government sectors, including at or Wiprsations such as Wipro Technologies and DRDO.

With SAP S/4HANA Greenfield, BAL will harness

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Digital Technologies, Start ups

Agtech platforms reduce the digital divide in agriculture by empowering farmers with data-driven insights and encouraging them to be more tech-savvy.

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow’s research underscores the importance of digitising India’s farming and agricultural sectors and its potential to revolutionise the entire industry. By examining four major Agtech platforms in India, the study identifies and discusses the impact of these platforms’ network effects and how they enhance Indian agriculture.

This study is the first to outline the creation and leverage of such platforms by agribusinesses, government agencies, or cooperatives. The research conducted by Prof. Sanjeev Kapoor from the Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management at IIM Lucknow, and Prof. Neeraj Singh from the Marketing and Strategy Area at IIM Rohtak, has been published in the journal, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management.

The study focuses on four of India’s largest Agtech platforms: Dehaat, Samunnati Agrielevate, IFFCO Bazar, and KRIBHCO-CSC-eGov. Expert consultations and data analysis from several sources were conducted to examine their impact on network effects and how they enhance the platforms’ value proposition, particularly through matching, transactional, discovery, and evaluation.

Prof. Sanjeev Kapoor, Centre for Food and Agribusiness Management, IIM Lucknow, and the lead author of the study emphasized the significance of this research stating, “This study is the first to discuss partners for Agtech platforms. It investigates partners in both privately and collaboratively marketed Agtech platforms using a unique case research methodology. This study is relevant to the development of digital agribusiness strategies because of the rise of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and other democratic digital markets in the agricultural space. Practitioners and policymakers can utilise the emerging Agtech Value Proposition Canvas (AVPC) framework as an exercise to build and establish platforms for rural markets.”

The analysis identified essential complementary cores for an Agtech platform for emerging markets. These include third-party financial institutions for providing microcredit and facilitating transactions, as well as warehouse and logistic partners to enhance efficiency. Social media modules enable peer-to-peer feedback and information sharing, promoting transparency and increasing platform value by encouraging direct user interaction.

On the other hand, Dehaat and Agrielevate, as privately held companies prioritizing profit, adopt firm-led control and ownership governance, emphasising commercial performance and profit growth. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages, but the cooperative method stands out for its inclusive, community-centered governance, aligning platform objectives with the interests of agricultural stakeholders and promoting a more engaged and community-driven ecosystem.

Dr. Neeraj Singh, from the Marketing and Strategy Area at IIM Rohtak, emphasises that the Agtech platform domain lacks comprehensive understanding in academic and management spheres. The study elucidates the structural and functional aspects of digital platforms for rural markets, offering a practical framework for agribusiness managers to identify relevant partner organizations and anticipate the impact of these actors on network effects and overall value proposition beforehand. A successful Agtech platform boasts a clearly defined value proposition, and partnering firms that align with it tend to fare better. The framework also suggests strategies for agricultural platforms to expand by enhancing the net-positive network effect.

These findings offer valuable insights for researchers, providing a deeper understanding of the types of complementors associated with agricultural platforms. The research can serve as a starting point for further exploration of issues such as low rates of farmer acceptance of these platforms. Moreover, by examining agricultural platform configuration and design aspects from stakeholders’ viewpoints, this research provides insight into Agtech platform dynamics.

Agtech platforms reduce the digital divide in

Agribusiness, Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Fertilizers, Company News, India

 IFFCO will use the ammonia supplied by ACME for manufacturing complex fertilisers at Paradeep unit in Odisha and Kandla unit in Gujarat.

Cooperative fertiliser major IFFCO announced that company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with renewable energy company ACME for supply of commercial grade ammonia. Under the terms of the agreement, ACME will supply approximately 200,000 metric tons of ammonia to IFFCO, manufactured through a renewable energy route. This collaboration is aligned with the National Green Hydrogen Mission, spearheaded by the Prime Minister, aiming to position India as a global hub for the production, utilization, and export of green hydrogen and its derivatives.

Ammonia will be produced at ACME’s plant in Gopalpur, Odisha using renewable energy and supply the same to Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), company mentioned. Ammonia is an important base material for fertilisers.

The cooperative said that it will use the ammonia supplied by ACME for manufacturing complex fertilisers at Paradeep unit in Odisha and Kandla unit in Gujarat.

IFFCO also mentioned that ACME would retain a green credit and trade in the form of ITMO (Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes) with other countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The initiative will lead to significant decarbonisation of the economy, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and enable India to assume technology and market leadership in green hydrogen, it added.

Birinder Singh, Director IFFCO said, “This is a step forward in our ongoing efforts to innovate in the field of fertilizer production and supply.”

Hiren Mehta, Chief Commercial Officer at ACME, said, “This partnership with IFFCO represents a significant leap forward in our mission to promote sustainable energy solutions. The MoU will pave the way to sign bilateral agreements between India and other countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement”.

 IFFCO will use the ammonia supplied by

Dairy, India, Live Stock, People

Shah was Chairman of several esteemed Institutions such as National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Mother Dairy, IDMC, IIL, NCOL, NDS, (IRMA), NDDB CALF, NDDB MRIDA, Anandalaya, among others.

The National Cooperative Dairy Federation of India Ltd. (NCDFI), in its Board elections held on April 5 unanimously elected Dr Meenesh Shah as the Chairman. The election was conducted by Praveen Chaudhary, IAS, District Collector of Anand who served as the Returning Officer. Prior to this, NCDFI in its General Body meeting held on April 04, 2024 elected eight directors on the Board unopposed. This included Dr Meenesh Shah, Jharkhand Milk Federation, Dr Mangal Jit Rai, Sikkim Milk Union, Shamalbhai B. Patel, Gujarat Milk Federation, Randhir Singh, Haryana Milk Federation, K. S. Mani, Kerala Milk Federation, Balachandra L. Jarakiholi, Karnataka Milk Federation, Narinder Singh Shergill, Punjab Milk Federation and Sameer Kumar Parida, West Assam Milk Union.

Apart from these elected directors, Regupathi, Executive Director, NDDB is the nominated director on the Board of NCDFI. Meenesh Shah has wide range of experience and expertise from his being Chairman of several esteemed Institutions such as National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Mother Dairy, IDMC, Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), National Cooperative Organics Ltd (NCOL), NDDB Dairy Services (NDS), Institute of Rural Management (IRMA), NDDB CALF, NDDB MRIDA, Anandalaya, among others.

NCDFI is a national-level apex dairy cooperative registered on December 7, 1970 and is governed under the provisions of the Multi State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Act, 2023. It has 20 Regular Members, 14 Associate Members and the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) as its Institutional Member.

Shah was Chairman of several esteemed Institutions

Agrotech, Collaborations, Company News, India, Start ups, Water

The partnership enables Unnati to offer its network of retailers and farmers climate mitigation products.

Unnati, a fintech-powered digital farming company, announced that company has partnered with Prince Pipes, an integrated piping solutions provider. The partnership will offer Unnati’s retailers and customers a range of Prince Pipes’ products, beginning with agricultural pipes ‘Aquafit’ and borewell pipes ‘Safefit’. The company mentioned that the partnership enables Unnati to offer its network of retailers and farmers climate mitigation products.

By teaming up with Unnati, Prince Pipes will tap into a vast online customer base, leveraging the convenience and efficiency of digital channels, mentioned the release.

Amit Sinha, Co-Founder and Director of Unnati, said: “We are excited to join hands with Prince Pipes in this collaboration. Their longstanding presence in the pipes industry aligns well with our vision to offer our customers top quality products. This association allows us to ensure that retailers and customers associated with Unnati have access to high-quality pipes, benefiting their businesses and improving water-related solutions in their farms.”

Nihar Chheda, VP Strategy, Prince Pipes & Fittings Ltd, said: “At Prince Pipes we understand the importance of embracing digital platforms to meet the evolving needs and expectations of our customers. Partnering with Unnati will allow us to expand our engagement with agri customers, to offer a seamless and enhanced online shopping experience. We are excited to embark on this digital journey and look forward to aligning more actively with agriculture-led communities through our range of products.”

The partnership enables Unnati to offer its

AgroPolicy, India, Supply Chain, Transportation

In FY 2023-24, port has achieved highest ever coastal shipping traffic of 59.19 million metric tonnes, with a growth of 0.76 million metric tonnes i.e. 1.30 per cent over the previous year.

Paradip Port Authority (PPA’s) remarkable journey has reached new heights with the recent record-breaking achievement of clocking incredible 145.38 MMT cargo throughput in FY 2023-24 and thus-by nudged passed Deendayal Port, Kandla to emerge as the highest cargo handling major port of the country. For the first time in the 56 years history of operation, PPA has surpassed previous records, set by Deendayal Port. Paradip Port has also recorded growth of 10.02 million metric tonnes (7.4 per cent) of traffic on YoY basis.

During the financial year the Port has achieved highest ever coastal shipping traffic of 59.19 million metric tonnes, with a growth of 0.76 million metric tonnes i.e. 1.30 per cent over the previous year. The thermal coal coastal shipping has reached 43.97 million metric tonnes i.e. 4.02% per cent over the previous year cargo handling. Thus, the Paradip Port is emerging as a hub for coastal shipping in the country.

Paradip Port has been able to improve its berth productivity to 33014 MT from 31050 MT of previous financial year, thus registering 6.33 per cent growth. The berth productivity achieved by Paradip Port is the highest among all the ports of the country. During the financial year, the Port has handled 21,665 numbers of rakes, registering a growth of 7.65 per cent over the previous financial year. During the financial year, the Port has handled 2710 ships, registering an increase of 13.82% over the previous financial year.

The increased performance in cargo handling has been driven by various system improvement measures undertaken by the Port during the financial year, which are detailed as below:

1. Improved system of operation at mechanized coal hand plant to reduce idle time between rake unloading has resulted in highest handling of thermal coal at MCHP i.e. 27.12 million metric tonnes.

2. The northern dock of the port has been declared for handling 16 meters draught cape vessels.

3. Simultaneous handling of 1 Cape and 1 Panamax at coal handling berths, which was not being done during the previous year.

• Paradip Port has frozen its tariff for cargo handling at the level of 2022 for next 3 years as a part of its business development initiatives. It is to be noted that Paradip Port is the cheapest in terms of tariff among all the port of the country. In terms of provisional financial results,

1. The Operating revenue has crossed Rs.2,300 Crores against Rs.2,074 Crores in comparison to previous fiscal, resulting an increase of 14.30 per cent.

2. The operating surplus has crossed Rs.1,510 Crores against last year of Rs.1,300 Crores with a growth of 16.44 per cent.

3. The net surplus before tax has crossed Rs.1,570 Crores against last year Rs.1,296 Crores exhibiting growth of 21.26 per cent.

4. Net surplus after tax has also crossed Rs.1,020 Crores against Rs.850 Crores of last year which is 20 per cent increase.

5. The operating ratio has also improved to 36 per cent against 37 per cent last year.

Paradip Port, with 289 million metric tonnes rated capacity port as on date, is poised to cross 300 million metric tonnes capacity mark in another 3 years with the commissioning of Western Dock project. The work of Western Dock project with 25 million metric tonnes capacity is in full swing by the PPP Operator i.eM/s. J.P.P.L. The said project will also increase the draught of the port, enabling the port to handled fully laden cape vessels by 2026.

Paradip Port, which has mechanized 80 per cent of the berths as on date, plans to become 100 per cent mechanized by 2030 with the mechanization of existing 4 semi-mechanized berths. The Port has also planned to add another 4 berths for which requisite approval will be taken during the current financial year, itself.

In FY 2023-24, port has achieved highest