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A Bill that seeks to promote coastal trade and encourage the participation of Indian-flagged vessels owned and operated by Indian citizens for national security and commercial needs was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal introduced the Bill amid noisy protests by opposition members over the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and the Adani issue. Sandhya Ray, who was chairing the proceedings, asked Congress members Manish Tewari and Gaurav Gogoi to speak but they refused, saying that the House was not in order. Opposition members are allowed to speak on Bills if they wish to oppose it at the introduction stage itself. The Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, was later introduced following a voice vote amid the din. The Bill is among the five new measures planned for introduction by the government in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.
The head of the United Nations called Monday for maritime nations to agree on a course for the shipping industry to reduce its climate-harming emissions to net zero by the middle of the century at the latest. The appeal by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres came at the start of a meeting of the International Maritime Organisation in London that's seen as key for helping achieve the international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). Shipping, which accounts for almost 3 per cent of global emissions, will be vital, Guterres said. He urged delegates to agree a new greenhouse gas strategy for shipping that includes ambitious science-based targets starting in 2030 both on absolute emissions reductions and the use of clean fuels. The IMO's current target is for the shipping industry to cut its emissions by at least half from 2008 to 2050. Guterres said the new targets should include all greenhouse gas emissions caused by the industry and backed th
The Centre on Thursday said it has given its go-ahead to a proposal by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to purchase two coastal vessels costing Rs 245.07 crore. The induction of these vessels will increase the exploration activities of GSI in the marine sphere which has huge resources of heavy minerals within the territorial waters of the east and west coast of the country, it added. "The Ministry of Mines has approved the proposal of the Geological Survey of India to procure two coastal vessels as a replacement to the existing vessels here today. The project is at an estimated cost of Rs 245.07 crore," according to an official statement. The proposed vessels are planned to go further beyond the territorial waters for collecting baseline data as well as identifying mineral potential areas.