How the Adani group came to dominate India’s foreign trade

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Editor's note: In recent times, Gautam Adani has been in the news for his forays into airports, green energy and cement. Not so much the ports business. Yet, that’s where his Adani group has quietly built a dominance that’s unparalleled and without any competition.  Since January 2020, group company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, or APSEZ, has spent nearly Rs 39,000 crore on acquiring new ports across the country. This, coupled with a rebound in foreign trade after two years has seen Adani solidify his group’s presence at the centre of the action. APSEZ is now India’s largest private port operator, owning a significant share of the market. Around 30% of all cargo and more than 40% of all shipping containers landing on or departing from Indian shores end up docking at an Adani-owned port before moving on to their next destination. In 2021-22, the company handled 312 million metric tonnes of cargo and 8.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, worth of containers.  “All the steel Maruti needs is warehoused by Adani because nobody else can do it. Almost 50% …