Saravanan's Blog

Source: http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/debashis-dutta-elected-chairman-of-fffai/ Mr. Debashis Dutta, representing Calcutta Custom House Agents Association , was unanimously elected as Chairman for the two-year term at the voting held for electing new Chairman and office-bearers of Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations in India (FFFAI) i n Mumbai on Sept. 22. Mr. Dutta is the Director of BG Somadder & Sons Pvt Ltd, Kolkata, that has branches in Kolkata air cargo complex, Haldia and Paradip. He also holds the position of member, Board of Trustees, Kolkata Port Trust. He further occupies many distinguished offices viz., Executive Committee Member, Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Honorary Finance Secretary, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club; National Soccer Club of India; Director of United Mohun Bagan Football Team Pvt Ltd; Divisional Warden, Civil Defence, Government of West Bengal; and past President of Calcutta Custom House Agents’ Association. Along...

Source:  http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/chennai-port-throws-baits-to-andhra-exim-fraternity/ As part of its drive to reach out to cargo- originating regions to garner sustained support, Chennai Port has organised “Trade Facilitation  Meet” in Hyderabad recently. Organised in association with the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries  (FAPCCI), Chennai Port used the forum to showcase the facilities and advantages of the Eastern  gateway port that has regular mainline vessel connectivity to various ports across the globe. Officials of the port management made an elaborate presentation about the port, its facilities to  the regional EXIM players and underlined that after stoppage of coal/ iron ore handling, the Chennai  Port has vast open area of 11, 46, 160 sq. mtrs and covered area of 28,768 sq. mtrs available for  other cargoes. At the trade meet, the Chennai Port drove home the message that the Eastern gateway is ...

Source: www.imo.org Today (26 September 2013) marks the 36th celebration of World Maritime Day. This year’s theme is:  "Sustainable Development: IMO's contribution beyond Rio+20". In his World Maritime Day message, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said that maritime transport  was central to sustainable development, as the world's only really reliable, global, cost-effective  and energy-efficient mass transportation method for energy, materials, foods and industrial  products. “The maritime transportation system itself must, therefore, ensure that its development is also  sustainable,” Mr. Sekimizu said, adding that this blanket term included not just the operation of  ships, but all the activities that are vital to support shipping, such as the operation of maritime  traffic management systems and global communication systems, ports and multi-modal connections are  all components of this multi-faceted sector. “Shipbuilding an...

Source: http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/politicians-created-fissure-in-indian-lankan-fishermen-relationship/ With the continuing trend of arrests of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities and vice versa, there is no doubt that the issue is slowly reaching towards its crescendo, from where nobody really knows what would happen at the end. The continued detention of 100-odd Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka on serious charges including drug smuggling has created a state-wide agitation in Tamil Nadu, the bordering state with Sri Lanka across Palk Strait. As the relatives and friends of those fishermen living in Tamil Nadu feel that it is a pure vindictive action by the Sri Lankan authorities, who are often said to take such action on fishermen due to Island’s political posture on Tamils, the situation is slowly getting out of control. Meanwhile, five Sri Lankan fishermen, who had been apprehended by Indian Coast Guard personnel attached to Tuticorin station on Sept. 17, were h...

Source:  http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/l-t-kattupalli-port-greets-hyundai-vessel/ Mr Vishal Mathur, GM-Marketing & Commercial, L&T Ports, Kattupalli, presented a memento to the captain of the vessel in the presence of Mr. Jean Johnson (extreme left), General Manager, Hyundai Merchant Marine (South India), Chennai. Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) vessel Hyundai Highway on  Sept. 18 made a trial call at the L & T managed Kattupalli Port, Tamil Nadu. According to Hyundai sources, the main-line vessel under Asia-Chennai-Services (ACS) made a port of  call at Kattupalli International Container Terminal (KICT) around 7 in the morning and left the port  by noon the same day. During the port of call at KICT, the vessel unloaded over 160 import TEUs  meant for different customers. The Port rotation for ACS service is Vostochny, Russia– Busan, Korea–Ulsan, Korea–Shanghai, China– Yantian, China—Singapore– Port Klang, Malaysia– Chennai, India—Singa...

Source:  http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/vct-turns-10-looks-back-with-pride-looks-forward-with-hope/ The Visakha Container Terminal (VCT), a joint venture between DP World and United Liner Agencies of India (Private) Ltd at Visakhapatnam Port Trust , celebrated “10 years of excellence” on Sept. 19. Addressing the elite gathering of EXIM players and shipping fraternity here, Mr. Vir Kotak, Joint Managing Director, Visakha Container Terminal, recalled the journey of VCT over the past 10 years. Mr. Kotak said: “ On May 31, 2001, a young man named Krishna Kotak stood looking out at the vast expanse of the inviting blue-grey sea of the Bay of Bengal . From his vantage point he could see the beautiful city of Visakhapatnam, majestically nestled between green mountains and an endless beach but also something that most of us would fail to see – endless opportunities and possibility of setting up a world-class container terminal. A dream was about to come true and eventually it ...

By Yatish Yadav  source:  http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Chidambaram-lens-on-mega-tax-dodgers/2013/09/15/article1785171.ece As slow growth taxes the economy, heavy hitters, who have evaded taxes, have come under the eagle eye of  Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Following his instructions to income tax officials to address an estimated backlog of Rs 4 lakh crore of  corporate tax, a massive crackdown has been unleashed on all major tax evaders who owe the government  upwards of Rs 500 crore. The Finance Minister hopes to collect over Rs 6,50,000 crore in direct taxes in financial year 2013-14,  including corporate tax. In May, Chidambaram hinted that the government is mining data to enable it to trap tax evaders in the  Finance Ministry’s net. For the first financial quarter of 2013, the government has mined the data of 41 private and public sector  enterprises that have to pay Rs 70,000 crore to the Treasury — almost 17 per cent of ...

Source:  http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/dg-shipping-solution-in-sight-for-sea-time-imbroglio/ Taking a firm step towards keeping its promise of helping the thousands of DNS cadets, who were left in the lurch without their mandatory sea-time training to complete B Sc Nautical Science degree, the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) is mulling options to go for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Andaman & Nicobar Administration and Lakshadweep for onboard training . Speaking to Sagar Sandesh, Mr. Gautam Chatterjee, Director General of Shipping , said: “We had extensive discussions with different people for some time on whether we (Shipping Ministry) can have training cum trading ship where a large number of (DNS) students can be trained.” Elaborating further about the steps being taken by the DG Shipping for reducing the number of DNS cadets waiting for the training, he added that there is a plan to facilitate an MoU between Indian Maritime University (IMU) and...

Source:  http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/p-s-krishnan-elected-president-of-cchaa/                                                                   Mr. P. S. Krishnan In a tightly fought contest for electing the  new office-bearers of Chennai Custom House Agents Association (CCHAA) for the period  2013-2015, Mr. P. S. Krishnan , former Chairman of Federation of Freight Forwarders  Associations in India (FFFAI), and his team emerged victorious when the official  results were declared. Mr. Krishnan, currently Advisor to the national level Federation, and his team  defeated Mr. A. V. Vijayakumar (immediate past president) and his team in the  election that was held in Chennai on Sept. 7. It may be noted here that the two-time trustee of Chennai Port Trust in the past, Mr.  Krish...

Source:  http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/will-cdc-go-the-passport-way-to-reduce-inordinate-delay/ Getting a passport, a precious document for any citizen of our country who wishes to go abroad, used to be a cumbersome process until 2010, when the Union Government took a decision aimed at providing passport-related services speed, convenience and transparency. Since then, the whole scenario of waiting for passport, sometime up to six months, has drastically come down to just a few days affair with more transparency. While the function of granting and issuing passport remains with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been roped in by the Government of India as its technology and operations partner in the mega project. Just like MEA, which took the risk and brought a private player for infusing transparency in the process as well as for speedy delivery of passports, will the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) utilize the services ...

Source:  http://www.sagarsandesh.com/news/ban-on-new-approvals-of-pre-sea-maritime-degree-courses-goes/ With a view to meeting the Government’s aspiration to substantially increase its seafarers to nine per cent of the world share, the Shipping Ministry has decided to lift the ban imposed on new approvals of pre-sea maritime degree courses. Making the big announcement during the inauguration of Shipping Corporation of India’s (SCI) Maritime Training Institute (Thoothukudi campus) on Sept. 7 at V. O Chidambaranar Port, Mr. G. K .Vasan, Union Minister for Shipping, said: “ The (Shipping) Ministry has decided to lift the ban imposed on new approvals of pre-sea maritime degree courses and will now allow new approvals for the three-year B.Sc Nautical Science and four-year B.E. Marine Engineering courses.” Dwelling upon the crucial role played by seafarers in securing the country’s growth, Mr. Vasan added: “We must be proud as Indians because our seafarers have the reputa...

Source:  http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ril-in-fresh-trouble-as-cag-questions-ministry-on-gas-price-hike/article5097794.ece?homepage=true PIC Courtesy:  http://www.stockwatch.in/ril-net-profit-falls-115-22716 The Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is in for more trouble as  the Comptroller and Auditor-General has questioned the Petroleum and Natural Gas  Ministry over the recent gas price increase and wanted to know the steps taken to  ensure that the operator (RIL-BP) delivers gas at $4.2 mbtu as per the approved  production plan. Virtually questioning the Rangarajan formula, the CAG has taken serious note of the  price revision done in July and sought to know why the Ministry has not exercised its  right to fix the price under Article 21.6.3 of the production sharing contract (PSC)  for the KG-DWN-98/3 block. In its August 14 communication, the Office of the Principal Director of Audit,  Economic ...