New Delhi - The Union Budget has once again referred to India’s state-owned major ports as “trusts”, despite Parliament having replaced that framework with a new legal structure more than four years ago under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021.

The law, notified on February 18, 2021, converted 11 of the 12 major ports into autonomous “authorities”, granting them greater operational and financial flexibility. Yet, in the Budget documents, ports such as Cochin, Paradip, V O Chidambaranar, Jawaharlal Nehru, New Mangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Deendayal (Kandla), Mormugao and Visakhapatnam continue to be described as “port trusts” under . . .