India's port statistics separate major ports under central governance from non-major ports under state maritime arrangements, regardless of everyday size adjectives. Visakhapatnam Port Authority is the AP major port authority. Gangavaram, Kakinada and Krishnapatnam are listed among AP non-major cargo-handling ports in the Ministry's 2024–25 Basic Port Statistics. “Non-major” is a legal/administrative category, not a claim that a port is small or economically unimportant.

The AP Maritime Policy describes the state's maritime framework and proposed development. A port may be existing, under construction, notified or planned, so always state the reporting year. Cargo handled in million tonnes is a dated flow, not capacity. A project port may have designed capacity before it handles any cargo. In MCQs, first ask which authority classifies it, then which coast position it occupies. This prevents a common error of calling Gangavaram a second centrally governed major port simply because it moves substantial cargo.

Worked example: Major and non-major port categories are legal governance classifications, not a ranking by cargo volume. A busy non-major port may handle more cargo than a smaller major port in some period. For an exam, use the responsible authority and statutory category. For a traffic comparison, use the same fiscal year's official tonnes or TEUs and define the measure.

Active recall: Which AP port is a major port authority, and why can a large cargo port still be non-major?

Major and non-major ports

Legal governance category is separate from cargo volume.

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Major and non-major classify governance under law, not cargo size. A traffic ranking needs a dated official port table.

Current district geometry: APSDMA. Mining, industry, SEZ and port claims: credited issuing bodies.