On the second day of Sagarmanthan in the session titled Smart Seas: Innovation in Shipping and Beyond, Dhruv Kotak, Group Managing Director J M Baxi Group, said shipping was extremely process-driven. There were multiple processes. AI would play a big role. There would be a massive advent of AI agents across various nodes in the supply chain. There would be considerable disruptions in the system through the creation of new processes and new AI agents.
The energy transition would be in the form of more electrification in the ports. Ship-to-shore power electrification is seen in tug boats and marine crafts. The scope was immense.
Digitisation, he felt, was already underway. India had done well in this area. Digitisation would be a massive leveller in terms of trade and efficiency. These changes are quickly coming upon us.
Regarding women’s role in shipping, Kotak said that the shipping community had a long way to go as an industry. India was equally lagging behind any other nation. However, he felt that there was never a better time to start addressing gender inequality. He illustrated this by saying they had recently launched a container terminal in Tuticorin in south India, where 50% of the workforce were women. He believed it was the highest percentage of women anywhere in any port in the world.
How could this be achieved? There were many parts involved. There were regulations in place which did not allow women to work, even if they wanted to, due to safety concerns. However, if affirmative action could be taken, the government and the policymakers could look into these rules. The various port authorities and the ministry had a positive mindset regarding these requirements. It was necessary to have a very high ratio that automatically made a comfortable working environment. Women could also be inducted as truck drivers. The company looked into electrifying its fleet of 2000 trucks at J M Baxi port by 2027. These trucks, he said, were gender-neutral and extremely easy to drive. There was a distinct possibility of lady drivers taking over these trucks. All that is required is affirmative action from companies and government support regarding changing regulations.
