Ports and airports are classic Static GK. Exams ask: “Which is India’s largest container port?” or “The airport in Guwahati is named after?”. Here is everything in two tables.
The 12 major ports
Major ports are under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; all except Kamarajar are run by port authorities under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021.
| Port | State | Coast | Fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deendayal Port (Kandla) | Gujarat | West | Tidal port; among the busiest by cargo |
| Mumbai Port | Maharashtra | West | Natural harbour; oldest major port on the west coast |
| Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPA, Nhava Sheva) | Maharashtra | West | Largest container port |
| Mormugao | Goa | West | Iron ore exports |
| New Mangalore | Karnataka | West | Iron ore, coffee |
| Cochin | Kerala | West | Natural harbour; Vallarpadam container terminal |
| V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin) | Tamil Nadu | East | Southernmost major port |
| Chennai | Tamil Nadu | East | Oldest major port on the east coast; artificial harbour |
| Kamarajar (Ennore) | Tamil Nadu | East | First corporatised major port |
| Visakhapatnam | Andhra Pradesh | East | Deepest landlocked natural harbour |
| Paradip | Odisha | East | Big cargo handler; iron ore and coal |
| Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Kolkata) | West Bengal | East | Only major riverine port (with Haldia dock) |
- Vadhavan Port (Palghar, Maharashtra) is being built as India’s 13th major port, a deep-water mega port.
Airports named after leaders
| City | Airport named after |
|---|---|
| Delhi | Indira Gandhi International |
| Mumbai | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International |
| Kolkata | Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International |
| Chennai | Chennai International (domestic terminal: K. Kamaraj; international: C.N. Annadurai) |
| Bengaluru | Kempegowda International |
| Hyderabad | Rajiv Gandhi International |
| Ahmedabad | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International |
| Guwahati | Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International |
| Patna | Jay Prakash Narayan |
| Lucknow | Chaudhary Charan Singh International |
| Varanasi | Lal Bahadur Shastri International |
| Bhubaneswar | Biju Patnaik International |
| Ranchi | Birsa Munda |
| Raipur | Swami Vivekananda |
| Bhopal | Raja Bhoj |
| Indore | Devi Ahilyabai Holkar |
| Amritsar | Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International |
| Port Blair | Veer Savarkar International |
| Goa (Mopa) | Manohar International (after Manohar Parrikar) |
| Imphal | Bir Tikendrajit International |
Exam-ready one-liners
- India has 12 major ports; Vadhavan will be the 13th.
- JNPA (Nhava Sheva) is the largest container port.
- Kolkata (Syama Prasad Mookerjee) is the only riverine major port.
- Kamarajar (Ennore) was the first corporatised major port.
- Guwahati’s airport is named after Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi.
Related reading
Quiz: test yourself
Loading the quiz…
Based on Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and AAI sources as reported.
Get daily current affairs & job alerts freeJoin SyllabusBox for updates every day.