Book excerpt: Inefficient ports can stall a country's trade growth and also increase the costs of transportation. Rising inefficiencies in ports have therefore forced the governments all over the world to deregulate the port system. The port sector in several developing countries has been undergoing revolutionary transformation from a subsistence infrastructure resource into a more capital intensive, commercially oriented facility during the last two decades. In India, awareness towards the impact of port infrastructure on economic development in general and international trade in particular has increased in recent years partly as a result of rising trade transportation costs. One of the objectives of this book is therefore to understand the role the port plays in India's economic development. The book tries to quantitatively evaluate the structural metamorphosis in Indian port sector. The main emphasis of the book is on performance evaluation, technological change, total factor productivity growth, market concentration, and competitiveness of Indian ports for the last two and a half decades. This book deals with these vital issues and questions through a detailed analytical framework. Above all, one protracted objective of this book is to create a ground for discussion on various aspects of port development and the resultant policy action.