Indian Ministry News

Indian Ministry of shipping has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with IIT Kharagpur on Wednesday for setting up a Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology (CICMT).CICMT will provide technological, vessel design and applied research support for inland waterways and coastal shipping, said a government release.Speaking on the occasion, Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping said, “Indigenous technology is the need of the hour for the maritime sector, and we are determined to promote Make- In- India as per the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.”Detailing about the state-of-the-art centre which is being set up the under the flagship Sagarmala Program…

The Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs and the Indian Ministry of Shipping have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen the cooperation in the maritime sector between the two countries.With the conclusion of this agreement, the two countries’ mutual commitment and interest in cooperating to ensure good conditions for the maritime sector is underlined.Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Rasmus Jarlov said: “India is a major growth economy that plays a key role in the global maritime sector. This makes India an important partner for Denmark and the entire Danish maritime industry.

The Indian ministry of shipping has taken several significant steps to boost and develop coastal shipping as the most efficient mode of transportation of cargo."The country believes that development of coastal shipping will facilitate movement of cargo through inland water transport to coast and vice-versa, which is cheapest way of transport,"said the Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Chemicals & Fertilizers Mansukh L Mandaviyainan.This would also result in diversion of cargo from rail/ road to sea route.At present, transportation of cargo through coastal shipping is significantly lower than by road or rail transport.As per study, the cost of per ton cargo movement per KM by road is Rs. 2.50/, by rail is Rs. 1.36/- while by water route, it is Rs.

Indian Ministry of Shipping, through its flagship programme Sagarmala, is closely working with Government of Gujarat state and other stakeholders to showcase India's rich maritime heritage through development of a World Class Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal in the state of Gujarat.Preliminary work on design elements of the proposed heritage complex has been completed and consultations from experts are now under process. In order to further plan and take the project forward, a one day consultation workshop was held at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya in Mumbai. The discussion was centred on the plan options, themes…

Indian Ministry of Shipping’s flagship program for port-led-prosperity ‘Sagarmala’ received the ‘Gold Award’ in infrastructure sector in the recently concluded 52nd Skoch Summit 2018 in New Delhi, recognizing the programmes’s contribution to India’s socio-economic transformation and it's role in propelling fast-track growth and infrastructure development. The Sagarmala Programme also received the ‘Order of Merit’ at the Summit. The Secretary (Shipping) Gopal Krishna shared the award with Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari. The Skoch Awards recognize leadership and excellence in accelerating socio-economic changes. These awards have become a benchmark of best practices in India in the fields of governance…

The Indian Ministry of Shipping has sanctioned Rs 25 Crore (USD 3.84mln) as Grants-in-aid to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and another Rs 50 Crore (USD 7.68mln) to the Government of Karnataka for Karwar Port, for developing their infrastructure, under the Coastal Berth Scheme of its flagship program Sagarmala. The Coastal Berth Scheme aims to provide financial support to ports or state governments for creation of infrastructure for movement of cargo and passenger by sea or national waterways. The admissible financial assistance from Central Government is 50% of the total cost of the project subject to: (i) a maximum of Rs 25 crore for projects relating to construction/up-gradation of coastal berths by Major/Non-Major Ports…

The Indian Ministry of Shipping has issued a notification renaming Kandla Port Trust as Deendayal Port Trust with effect from 25th of September, 2017. Kandla Port, located on the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, is one of the twelve major ports in the country. As per the Ministry’s notification, the Central Government, in exercise of powers conferred on it under Indian Ports Act, 1908, made the amendment to replace “Kandla” with “Deendayal”. While inaugurating various projects at Kandla Port in May this year, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had given the suggestion for renaming of Kandla Port after Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, who stood for the uplift of the poor and weaker sections of society.

The Indian ministry of defence (MoD) has terminated the contracts with India's ABG Shipyard, which already  was out of the race for $2.6-billion four Landing Platforms Docks (LPD). This comes as another serious setback to the Shipyard after it was listed as non-performing asset (NPA) accounts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for fast resolution under the insolvency law. ABG Shipyard has failed the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) carried out by ICICI bank. The Financial Express reported that keeping in mind the poor financial health of the shipyard, the MoD has written to ABG  that their old contracts are terminated. “The MoD through a letter to ABG Shipyard has cancelled contracts including Cadet Training ship; Coast Guard Training Ship and Naval vessels.

The flagship programme of Indian Ministry of Shipping – Sagarmala, has moved from the conceptualization and planning to the implementation stage. The Sagarmala project is introduces to harness India's 7,500-km coastline will promote port-led development in the country. As a part of the programme, more than 400 projects have been identified across the areas of port modernization and new port development, connectivity enhancement, portlinked industrialization and coastal community development. To create awareness about the Sagarmala programme among the stake holders and to engage with them, the Ministry is organising a series of workshops over the next 6 – 8 months under the aegis of the Sagarmala Programme.

agreement between Rolls Royce and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) will see final assembly of MTU Series 4000 engines in India. Under the terms of the deal, the 12V and 16V 4000 M90 type engines will be assembled in GRSE’s Diesel Engine Plant in Ranchi, while an option for the future local production of parts was also agreed upon. The agreement includes the transfer of MTU technology related to assembly, testing and painting. The 12V and 16V 4000 M90 type engines have a rated power of 2…

The Indian Ministry of Shipping, as a part of its ‘Green Port Initiative’ has been emphasizing on use of renewable sources of energy to power Major Ports across the nation. The Ministry aims to set up 91.50 MW of solar energy capacity at the twelve Major Ports and 45 MW of wind energy capacity by the two Major Ports of Kandla and V. O. Chidambaranar. Major Ports have started the process of setting-up renewable energy projects by investing Rs.704.52 crores ($ 104 million) in these projects. When completed, these renewable energy projects will help in the reduction of carbon dioxide emission by 136,500 MT annually. These projects will also help to reduce cost of power purchased by utilization of renewable energy for power generation…

APM Terminals Mumbai, India’s busiest container terminal, has embraced ‘Direct Port Delivery’ (DPD)service initiated by the Indian government as part of its “Ease of Doing Business Program” to enhance India’s access to the global logistics chain. The streamlined Direct Port Delivery protocol can result in substantial savings of time and money for importers by reducing container dwell times after vessel discharge. In the past, import containers were sent to Container Freight Stations (CFS) 1-1.5 days after arriving by vessel. Next, depending on the completion of import procedures and clearances with shipping lines, custom house agents, Customs, consignees and CFS operators, the cargo was then delivered to the end user after an average dwell time of 9- 10 days.

Sagarmala Programme, an ambitious port-led infrastructure development programme of the government to harness India’s 7,500-km, is now moving from the conceptualization and planning to the implementation stage. The National Perspective Plan (NPP), for the comprehensive development of India’s coastline and maritime sector, has been prepared and was released at the maiden Maritime India Summit 2016, on 14th April, 2016, by the Hon’ble Prime Minister. As part of Sagarmala, more than 400 projects, at an estimated infrastructure investment of more than Rs. 7 lack crore, have been identified across the areas of port modernization & new port development, port connectivity enhancement, port-linked industrialization and coastal community development.

Indian shipping trade union the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) has asked the Indian Ministry of Shipping for financial help toward the training of maritime workforce in oil exploration activities. The union’s General Secretary, Abdulgani Serang, said NUSI has requested financial aid and incentives from the Ministry through National Shipping Board for training the maritime workforce at NUSI Offshore Training Institute (NOTI), currently operated by NUSI-ITF Trust. NOTI trains the workforce that operates specialized vessels…

APM Terminals Pipavav welcomed the IDM Symex, which arrived with a cargo of 800 Hyundai cars loaded at the Port of Chennai on February 5th, in a pioneering use of economical and environmentally-friendly coastal transportation of Indian-manufactured automobiles. APM Terminals Pipavav, part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, commenced export Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) services in August 2015, after NYK Auto Logistics India (NALI) invested in a state of the art stock yard and PDI [pre delivery inspection] facilities. The new cars destined for Western India dealerships originated at Hyundai Motor India Limited’s (HMIL) automotive manufacturing facility near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu State.

Promoting ease of doing business has been at the core of the efforts of the Ministry during the year. Focus has beenonsimplifying procedures by removing irritants that make it cumbersome to carry on business smoothly. Obsolete Rules under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 weeded out: The Ministry of Shipping has decided to rescind 13 Rules under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (as amended), having found them to be obsolete and unnecessary. Out of the 13 Rules, 6 has been rescinded and 7 have been pre-published before rescindments. Ship Repair Units no longer required to register with DG Shipping: The Ministry simplified the procedure and eliminated the requirement of registration of Ship Repair Units (SRUs) with Directorate General (Shipping).

Hindustan Shipyard Ltd., the largest shipbuilding enterprise under Indian Ministry of Defence, and world’s premier shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) are likely to undertake joint construction of self-propelled fleet support ships (FSS) for the Indian Navy, says a report in the Hindu. A high-level delegation from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd has already inspected facilities at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited to explore the possibilities of cooperation. The team comprised…

The Indian ministry of shipping unveiled its vision document for Coastal Shipping, Tourism and Regional Development on Monday at Dona Paula, Goa at the 16th meeting of Maritime States Development Council (MSDC), reports Times of India. The government will encourage Indian ship owners and operators to acquire roll-on-roll-off vessels, passenger ferries, car and truck ferries and cargo carriers. This is one of the key points that the central ministry of shipping has mentioned in its vision document for coastal shipping, tourism and regional development. The document that seeks to ensure that the maritime sector contributes to the country's GDP was released by union minister of shipping, road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, who also chaired the meeting.

Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the international consulting and investment subsidiary of the port of Antwerp, and APEC, maritime training and education, conduct their activities in India strongly. Recently, under the impetus of the Indian Ministry of Shipping, signed an agreement with the Indian Ports Association PAI gives the order to develop the major Indian ports, called major ports, jointly audit and a joint optimization project. In connection with the execution of this contract there are two teams of PAI in India to screen the ports of Kandla and Paradip. APEC and the Indian Ministry of Shipping decided early this year, along with Jawaharal Nehru Port Trust -the largest container port in India- a common training center being shod at the last APEC.

The Indian Ministry of Finance has advised an increase in service tax and applicable at all ports. The effective date has not yet been announced. The rate of Service Tax will increase from 12% plus Education Cesses to 14%. The 'Education Cess' and 'Secondary and Higher Education Cess' shall be subsumed in the revised rate of Service Tax. Thus, the effective increase in Service Tax rate will be from the existing rate of 12.36% (inclusive of cesses) to 14%, subsuming the cesses. The new Service Tax rate shall come into effect from a date to be notified by the Central Government after the enactment of the Finance Bill, 2015. Until the time the revised rate comes into effect, the 'Education Cess' and 'Secondary and Higher Education Cess' will continue to be levied in Service Tax.

The Indian Ministry of Defence has directed future warship and submarine building orders be given only to domestic shipyards. The Navy has potential orders worth more than US $50 billion over the next 10 years for ship and submarine builds, said a Defence Ministry source. However, the $12 billion purchase of six conventional submarines with air independent propulsion, for which a request for proposals is being prepared, will still allow foreign participation in the design phase, although the subs will be built only by domestic shipyards, the MoD source added. As state-owned shipyards have their hands full, private sector yards, which have the facilities but fewer orders, are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries under the new directive, analysts said.

“The maritime industry will become more and more important for India in the coming years,” said Tobias König, Founder and Managing Director of König & Cie. GmbH & Co. KG, an issuing house based in Hamburg, Germany. A representative of König will be present at the accompanying conference at SMM India 2009. This is the first shipbuilding trade fair on the Indian sub-continent, taking place under quality label of SMM, the leading shipbuilding fair. It is organised by Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC) and the two partners and co-organisers INTER ADS Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd. (the largest Indian trade show organiser) and E. J. Krause & Associates, Inc. (a globally active U.S. event specialist), at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai from 12 to 14 November 2009.