The Indian Ports Association (IPA) invited experienced professionals from across the nation to join a national panel of experts and individual consultants, aimed at supporting major ports and the shipping ministry on high‑level technical and strategic projects.
IPA’s Expression of Interest, dated January 1 2026, sought applications for empanelment to its Centre of Excellence (CoE) from qualified professionals below 70 years of age. Applicants must have at least a graduate degree in a relevant field and demonstrable, documented expertise in their chosen specialisation areas, said the EoI document.
Empanelment is meant to create a ready pool of pre‑qualified experts who can be hired by major ports, IPA and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) as and when needed, rather than filling permanent posts.
Any engagement under this panel will be short‑term, the EoI read, capped at a maximum of six months in any financial year.
15 broad areas of expertise
IPA has identified 15 broad domains, each split into five sub‑categories, ranging from hard infrastructure to digital systems and cruise tourism.
These include projects (planning, design, construction supervision), environment and green ports, finance and PPP, information technology, navigational audits, estate and town planning, legal, disaster management, business development, HR and capacity building.
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Specialist categories also cover non‑destructive testing, independent engineers, transaction advisers and cruise development (covering market potential, terminal design and business models).
Applicants can opt for multiple areas and sub‑categories in a single online application via the CoE portal, with the last date on February 16, 2026.
Selection and payment
Inclusion in the panel is entirely at the discretion of IPA and its Executive Committee, based on experience and expertise, the EoI read. The empanelment does not guarantee any assignment or payment. When ports or the ministry actually hire from this panel, they will pay consolidated daily or monthly emoluments according to clearly defined slabs for serving/retired government officers and external private experts, according to the IPA document.
For external experts, daily rates range from Rs 8,000 (for 7–10 years of experience) to Rs 15,000 (for over 25 years of experience), with corresponding monthly caps from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3.25 lakh for full‑time engagement.
