Union Government News

The Union government of India (GoI) has concluded the strategic sale of Dredging Corporation of India (DCIL) to a consortium of four ports Vishakapatnam Port Trust, Paradeep Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust & Deendayal Port Trust.The share purchase agreement was executed between GOI and the four ports on March 08. The government held 73.47 per cent equity stake in the company.Of 73.47 per cent, the Vishakapatnam Port Trust bought 19.47 per cent, Paradeep Port Trust 18 per cent, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust 18 per cent and Deendayal Port Trust 18 per cent.Further, the Securities and Exchange Board of India granted exemption to the consortium of ports from making an open offer…

Russian tankers have smuggled jet fuel to Syria through EU waters, bolstering military supplies to a war-torn country where Moscow is carrying out air strikes in support of the government, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. At least two Russian-flagged ships made deliveries - which contravene EU sanctions - via Cyprus, an intelligence source with a European Union government told Reuters. There was a sharp increase in shipments in October, said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. A separate shipping source familiar with the movements of the Russian-flagged vessels said the ships visited Cypriot and Greek ports before delivering fuel to Syria.

India’s position to 35th rank in the latest bi-annual World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) report will open many corridors of opportunities as industry will witness swift growth in international as well as inter-state freights, an effect of Union Government’s commitment to make India as a preferred destination for many global businesses. Noticeable in the government’s latest first of its kind facility in India, the implementation of logistics data tagging of containers to track cargo at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), Mumbai. “The application of innovative tagging and tracking, which enables in-transit visibility and real time status update, has been so far successfully adapted in many advanced nations such as America, Japan and Germany.

India’s major ports controlled by the union government recorded a 4.3% year-over-year increase in container throughput in fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, says a report in the Times of India. The irony is that while ports handled by the private sector witnessed a slowdown in shipments, the government-owned major ports saw an increase in their share of cargo traffic for the first time in seven years! According to the Data, the 12 major ports witnessed a 4.3% rise in cargo traffic, estimated at 606 million tonnes. The private sector players, which have an over 40% share, saw an under 1% rise. India's 32 prominent ports handled 1,080 million tonnes of cargo in 2015-16…

The government of India would soon build a major port at Colachel in the southernmost tip of Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of $3.2 billion (Rs 21,000 crore), envisaged to emerge as a southern gateway of transshipment in the country, reports PTI. He said that the Government of Tamil Nadu has given its consent to the Centre to facilitate developing the port. The port would be developed in three phases and it would take three years for completing the construction," he said.The minister, however, did not elaborate the roadmap as to whether the port would be built on Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and did not talk about the monetary contribution by the Union government in establishing it.

Indian Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has said that the Ministry has prepared a scheme to offer subsidy to the shipbuilding industry, says Press Information Bureau of the government. The proposal has been sent to the Cabinet Ministry for approval. The government would open up a sub-centre of maritime university at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra to cater to the three states — Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra — for which JSW has already allotted 200 acres of land. He said by 2020, the maritime industry would provide jobs to over 65 million skilled labourers all over the world. Gadkari said the government would provide financial assistance of Rs 50 crore to the Centre, which would provide training in the maritime industry.

Anti-Corruption Bureau in the state of Gujarat has ordered by a Kutch court to probe the alleged multi-million rupee scam in Kandla Port Turst (KPT), has filed a revision petition saying the case be handed over to a national agency like CBI instead, reports PTI. “Gandhidham unit of ACB filed a revision plea before the sessions court yesterday and challenged the magistrate’s order to probe the scam. We have demanded that the case should be probed by a national agency, probably CBI, and we certainly cannot do it as the Trust comes under the Union Government” police inspector C J Sureja of ACB said. The sources in KPT as well as the Ministry of Shipping said that options are being evaluated with regards to what action can be taken against the official who has come under scrutiny.

Irving Shipbuilding has partnered with Women Unlimited to provide education funding and job opportunities to 20 women who will participate in the welding and metal fabrication program at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Akerley Campus. The partnership is an outcome of Irving Shipbuilding's Centre of Excellence funding announced in October 2012. The mandate of the Centre of Excellence is to provide Nova Scotians, with particular focus on under-represented Nova Scotians, with applicable programs and training to optimize opportunities to work in the marine industry.

In ten years, India Shipping Summit held consistently in Mumbai, has sailed on a robust growth course despite the worldwide witnessing recessionary waves buffeting any endeavors to grow and gain. The reasons are not too far to see. From the very beginning it has been reputed to be a mega event of South East Asia. It sought consistently to bring government representatives and the leading lights of the industry on to a common platform thus acting as a beacon for the country’s maritime trade to move on the road to progress. It has continued to garner support from every section of the trade and industry each time the event has taken place. This year the three-day event held last week brought together a bigger gathering of shipping elites and the who’s who in the industry.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation of a Port- Based Multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at Sheva, Navi Mumbai on Saturday, August 16, 2014. The proposed industrial infrastructure in 277 hectares with a total Public and Private investment of INR 4,000 Crore is planned as a Self-Sustainable Integrated Development Project having a potential of generating 1.5 lakh direct and indirect jobs. The ambitious SEZ to be developed through JNPT-SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) under the Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) mode will be completed in three years.

Union Minister for Shipping Shri G K Vasan yesterday inaugurated the Karaikal campus of the Indian Maritime University (IMU) in the Union Territory of Puducherry. To fulfill the aspirations of the youth in maritime training, education and career building, the Union government opened IMU campuses in all of the country’s maritime states. The government has already opened campuses of the University at Kandla and Cochin. A feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of Shipping concluded that new campus at Karaikal would benefit the rural youth to pursue a career in the maritime field. Speaking at the occasion, the Minister told that the efforts of the government as set out in the Maritime agenda 2020 has made the country a major supplier of the most efficient and cost effective manpower.

“Alang may have to stop operations if the direction of Apex Court on banning import of all hazardous and toxic wastes under the BASEL Convention is implemented,” president of Ship Recyclers Association, Vishnu Gupta said. However, it is to be noted that hearing the same case earlier, the Apex Court had issued two directions in 1997 and 2003, add the DNA report. “According to SC guidance, a committee was set up and there are 18 guidelines which ship breakers follow at the time of import, beaching and breaking so as to avoid any hazardous or toxic wastes,” Gupta added.“As the Supreme Court’s recent order has created confusion, only Union government can clarify the matter.

Gujarat, India’s top maritime state by cargo handled at state-owned ports, is finalizing a shipbuilding policy that has set an ambitious target to grab more than half of the country’s shipbuilding market by 2020, an official at the western state’s maritime regulator said. The state will be the first in the country to have a separate policy on shipbuilding. A draft policy prepared by the government seeks to extend tax holidays to shipbuilding projects for five years. Such projects will also be entitled to the same fiscal and duty benefits as those granted to so-called special economic zone (SEZ) projects of the Union government, said G.R. Jadega, technical adviser to the Gujarat Maritime Board.