Member of Economic Advisory Council to PM Gourav Vallabh  (file photo)
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

India needs to embrace new technology and can save up to ₹20,000 crore by using AI for cargo handling at ports, said Member of Economic Advisory Council to PM Gourav Vallabh on Tuesday.

Speaking at session ‘AI-Powered Ports: Reimagining Efficiency and Operations’ at the AI Impact Summit here, Vallabh said India is emerging as a global leader in the field of new technology.

“There is an approximate saving by uses of AI of ₹20,000 crore in our handling.. And every year we can save ₹15,000 crore as far as the logistic cost is concerned,” he said.

The question is not whether AI will transform India’s ports, Vallabh said adding “the question is whether we are going to lead it or not.” He noted that India’s logistics cost at 7.97 per cent of GDP is competitive, “but for Viksit Bharat 2047 aim, our ports should be intelligent and should have intelligent ecosystem.” He said India needs accelerated policy initiatives to reduce the logistics cost.

He pointed out that 95 per cent of total volumes of India’s trading is by maritime, but “in spite of annual growth of 13.5 per cent, our ports are not comparable to the biggest ports of the world as far as the handling capacity is concerned”. So, gap is both of infrastructure as well as intelligence, he added.

Vallabh listed out several areas of AI application in ports to improve performance. “AI is right now in front of us, it is up to us, we have to accept it,” Vallabh noted.

Subrat Tripathy, President Business Development APSEZ Ltd, shared idea of introducing virtual concierge in the ports industry.

“We’ve been thinking of developing what is called a virtual concierge… in all interactions on a platform which are not human-based. This is not about replacing human beings, but having a particular tool where we bring in the multiplicities of interactions, vessels, agents, transporters, multiple stakeholders that we have,” Tripathy said.

He said AI can also help in predicting weather conditions, navigation and safe operations of ports.

Susanta Kumar Purohit, Chairperson, VO Chidambaranar Port Authority, said, “Artificial intelligence is not merely a technological upgrade for ports; it is a structural shift in how we plan, operate and govern maritime infrastructure.” Aprajita Rana, AZB & Partners, spoke on legal aspects on usage of AI in the industry including safety and authenticity of the data.

“I think, going forward, what we really need to promote in the industry is having some sort of AI governance mechanism…You actually need to have some governance standards about how you’re going to deploy AI and to what extent, what kind of functionalities,” Rana said.

Published on February 17, 2026

Replacing Russian crude oil with a combination of barrels from the United States, Venezuela and the Middle East will increase the weighted average cost of crude oil by $1.5–2 per barrel for Indian refiners, impacting their gross refining margins (GRMs).

Ratings agency CareEdge in a commentary pointed out that the strategic advantage derived from procuring discounted Russian crude oil—at one point accounting for nearly 35-40 per cent of India’s crude oil import portfolio—is now expected to moderate significantly going forward.

This will be due to shifting geopolitical developments triggered by the US sanctions on major Russian crude oil entities, including Rosneft and Lukoil, in November 2025, as well as the European Union’s ban on products refined from Russian crude oil, which came into effect in January 2026, it added.

“Going forward, a compelled shift away from Russian crude toward a blend of Venezuelan, US and Middle Eastern grades is likely to increase the weighted average cost of India’s crude oil sourcing by $1.5–2 per barrel, directly compressing the GRM premium that Indian refiners have enjoyed in recent years,” CareEdge anticipated.

Hardik Shah, Director at CareEdge Ratings, said the performance of the Indian downstream oil sector is currently driven by the dual engines of high GRMs and healthy marketing margins.

“As we transition into FY27, the narrative is likely to shift from high GRMs to moderate but sustainable GRMs. While GRMs are expected to moderate from their recent peak levels due to global supply pressures and realignments in crude oil sourcing, they are likely to settle at $6–$8 per barrel, which is accretive to the historical average,” he explained.

However, the durability of this trend will depend on global crude prices remaining benign, though they can be susceptible to sudden geopolitical trade dynamics. With an expected moderation in GRMs and steady fuel retail prices, marketing margin is expected to improve going forward in the medium-term, Shah projected.

Indian Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have navigated a highly volatile margin environment over the past three fiscal years, marked by sharp fluctuations in GRMs amid rapidly evolving global market dynamics, CareEdge said.

GRMs declined from a high of $10–12 per barrel in FY24 to $4–6 per barrel in FY25 and further bottomed out to $2–4 per barrel in Q1 FY26. This downturn was driven by narrowing discounts on Russian crude oil, weaker product cracks, and heightened geopolitical uncertainties, it added.

“Thereafter, GRMs rebounded significantly to $8–10 per barrel in Q2 FY26 and further to $9-13 per barrel in Q3 FY26, thereby outperforming the Singapore benchmark. This improvement was supported by agile inventory management, a decline in crude oil prices, healthy product cracks, and wider discounts on Russian crude due to US restrictions on Russian crude oil trade,” it pointed out.

A defining theme in the latter half of FY26 is the gradual unwinding of the “Russian pivot,” which significantly supported India’s refining margins in FY23 and FY24.

India’s crude oil procurement profile has shifted markedly—from elevated dependence on Russian crude in FY24 (around 36 per cent) to about 30 per cent in Q3 FY26. This share is expected to fall further in Q4 FY26, the ratings agency projected.

Published on February 17, 2026

File Photo: Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY, CEO, IndiaAI Mission

“We are very near to achieving consensus on most of the objectives, and we should leave it to the top leaders to announce it on the main day,” Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY, CEO, IndiaAI Mission, said.

“Across all of the seven pillars we have moved forward, we have a considerable degree of consensus on the way forward. And most countries have agreed to it,” Singh told businessline on Tuesday.

Added to that, we are also launching all our sovereign models, and Sarvam is showcasing its model today, he added.

The 2026 India AI Impact Summit, taking place from February 16-20 in New Delhi, is structured around seven core pillars — and it aims to achieve consensus from all participating global delegations on these. These seven areas are Human Capital, Inclusion for Social Empowerment, Safe and Trusted AI, Resilience, Innovation and Efficiency, Science, Democratising AI Resources, and AI for Economic Growth and Social Good.

Speaking about the hassles faced by the invitees on day 1, Singh said that the buzz was very big and had been overwhelming. “We did expect (the kind of interest) but not as much. Yesterday was in fact a low-key day with no star speakers, so it seems there was a lot of curiosity on day 1,” he said.

“But the quality of discussions in the sessions has been absolutely brilliant,” he said, urging people to catch up on as many sessions as they could online.

Published on February 17, 2026