Merchant Shipping Bill will positively impact maritime sector in Mangaluru: Capt. Chowta
Extending support to the Bill at the Lok Sabha during a debate, Capt. Chowta said the Bill will increase cargo at New Mangalore Port, which handled 46.01 million tonnes in 2024-25. It will attract new investments in shipping, improve welfare for thousands of local seafarers, and strengthen institutions like Mangalore Marine College and Technology, creating high-quality maritime professionals for India's growing blue economy.
The MP added, 'As a representative of Mangalore, one of India's proud maritime gateways, I see this as a timely and transformative step for enabling port-led development in this Amritkaal.'
The landmark legislation will modernise India's maritime sector and significantly boost trade, employment, and coastal security in Mangaluru and the wider Dakshina Kannada region. Besides propelling India towards becoming a global shipping hub, the Bill is a step to strengthen the maritime sector, ensuring safe, efficient and sustainable maritime operations for a rising India, he said.
The Bill introduces key reforms including flexible vessel registration, easing ownership norms to attract foreign and NRI-led investment; enhanced safety and environmental standards aligned with international conventions to protect marine ecosystems; support for capital-deficient entrepreneurs and MSMEs through bareboat charter arrangements; expanded coastal security provisions in response to threats like 26/11; welfare measures for Indian seafarers, benefiting the 85% serving on foreign-flagged vessels; and a legal framework for maritime education to standardise over 160 training institutes across India.
Bill passed
Following the discussions, the Lok Sabha passed the Bill, aimed at expanding eligibility criteria for ownership of merchant shipping vessels and providing for investigation and enquiries on marine casualties. The Bill empowers the Central government to take charge and detain vessels within India or in coastal waters as a vessel without nationality, if such a vessel is not legally entitled to fly the flag of a State or has lost such right. It seeks to repeal the Merchant Shipping Act 1958.
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Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India shot down 5 Pak fighter jets and one large aircraft during Op Sindoor: IAF chief
At least five Pakistani combat jets and a large surveillance aircraft were shot down by Indian air defence weapons, primarily the S-400 system, during the four days of hostilities between the two countries in May, Indian Air Force chief AP Singh said on Saturday, the first official acknowledgment of such successes by the Indian side. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh made the remarks while delivering a public lecture in Bengaluru.(ANI Grab ) Air Chief Marshal Singh, who was delivering a public lecture in Bengaluru, said attacks by the Indian military also destroyed or damaged at least two Pakistani command and control centres, at least six big and small radars, two surface-to-air guided weapons (SAGW) systems, and the runways and hangars at the airbases in Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Bholari and Jacobabad. This is the first time that a senior Indian official has publicly revealed the aircraft losses suffered by Pakistan during the hostilities that erupted after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to target terrorist infrastructure across the border in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians on April 22. Also Read: Operation Sindoor: 5 first-time facts about India-Pakistan conflict revealed by IAF chief Singh, who made a presentation on attacks carried out by the IAF during Operation Sindoor using satellite imagery and videos from Indian weapon systems, said: '[With] the SAGW systems – mostly [the] S-400 – we have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an elint [electronic intelligence] aircraft or an AEW&C [airborne early warning and control] aircraft.' The AEW&C aircraft, he said, was taken out at a distance of almost 300 km, making it the longest ever 'recorded surface-to-air kill'. He described the S-400 air defence system, acquired from Russia, as 'a game-changer' whose range deterred Pakistan's combat aircraft. He said India's military strikes damaged or destroyed at least two command and control centres at Murid and Chaklala, at least six big and small radars, two SAGW systems in Lahore and Okara, the runways at the Sargodha and Rahim Yar Khan airbases, and hangars at the Sukkur, Bholari and Jacobabad airbases. Intelligence reports have indicated that an AEW&C aircraft was destroyed within the hangar at Bholari and some F-16s were damaged at the Shahbaz airbase in Jacobabad, he said. The hangar at the Sukkur airbase housed UAVs, he added. India's air defence systems and missiles had also destroyed a large number of Pakistani drones and long-range weapons, Singh said. The Indian side recovered a lot of wreckage from these drones and missiles which is being studied by the armed forces and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to learn more about the features of Pakistan's weapons systems and their launch sites. Singh said that in the initial stage of Operation Sindoor, the IAF was tasked to target terrorist infrastructure at two sites – the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) headquarters at Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba base at Muridke, both in Pakistan's Punjab province – while the Indian Army asked to target seven other sites located closer to the international boundary and the Line of Control (LoC). Speaking about the Indian government's decision to respond to the Pahalgam attack that was carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for LeT, Singh said: 'It was made very clear that this time it should be an emphatic thing that we do. We must send the message across loud and clear to them, it should not be something just limited to [terrorist] launch pads and training areas. The terrorist leadership should be challenged.' India has responded to other recent attacks carried out by Pakistan-based terror groups by carrying our surgical strikes on terrorist bases across the LoC or with an attack such as the air strike on a JeM facility at Balakot in 2019. While Singh didn't give details of the weapons used to strike the JeM and LeT headquarters, reports have said the air-launched version of the BrahMos cruise missile and other missiles were used. He said the IAF decided to 'go with long-range weapons to keep ourselves safe from [Pakistan's] air defences' and since the targets were all 'hardened structures'. After the terrorist infrastructure was targeted early on May 7, India's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) informed his Pakistan counterpart that only terrorist targets were hit to 'take revenge for Pahalgam'. Singh said India's DGMO also made it clear there was 'no intent to attack any military targets [and] so we can call it off here' but the Pakistani side made it clear they would respond. Pakistan's drone and missile retaliation foiled by Indian air defences Pakistan retaliated with drones, loiter munitions and missiles. It also attempted to saturate air defence systems at airfields and army installations by using a large number of drones but these were neutralised by anti-drone systems and anti-aircraft guns before they could cause any damage, Singh said. After intelligence reports suggested Pakistan was 'planning something very big' on May 9, the Indian side decided it would respond to attacks on any military installations by targeting key Pakistani military facilities. When the Pakistani attack came, the Indian side responded with strikes on airbases and other facilities across the border, he said. 'That night, we did not have any hold bar and we decided we will go and we will attack pan-front, we will stretch his resources. The idea was to give him an indication that 'Look, we can attack you deep inside, at will, wherever we want to',' Singh said. Thereafter, Pakistan's DGMO sought talks with the Indian side and this led to the stopping of hostilities on May 10. Singh attributed India's success to 'very clear political will' and clear directions to the armed forces without any restrictions. 'If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what will be our rules of engagement…what will be the escalation ladder that we want to ride on…There were no, I repeat, no restrictions on us,' he said, adding the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval played a key role in strengthening synergy between the military and other agencies. Singh listed several takeaways from Operation Sindoor, including the primacy of air power. 'People have come to realise that air power is the first responder that any country has and air power…can react in quick time, attack deep inside and attack with precision to achieve your objectives without any collateral,' he said. Noting that the effective use of air power resulted in the conflict ending in less than four days, Singh said another takeaway was that the country cannt afford to be continuously at war. 'If we can deter, there is nothing better than that, but if we are forced, if the war starts…we should be very clear that we can reach a stage where we can terminate that,' he said. Singh cautioned against drawing the wrong lesson from the use of drones in conflicts worldwide, and said: 'Drones are very good means for many things but I don't think just drones can win you wars. You will require the bigger weapons, you will require the long-range weapons, you will require the precision strike capability because drones are more of a nuisance.'
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
1962 war not failure of non-alignment policy but of China policy: Ex-ambassador Shivshankar Menon
New Delhi, The 1962 war with China was not a failure of the non-alignment policy but that of China policy and this can be gauged by the amount of support India received from across the world, irrespective of ideologies, according to former diplomat Shivshankar Menon. 1962 war not failure of non-alignment policy but of China policy: Ex-ambassador Shivshankar Menon He said while speaking at the launch of Swapna Kona Nayudu's book "The Nehru Year: An International History of Non-Alignment" here Friday evening. The Non-Aligned Movement was created and founded during the collapse of the colonial system and the independence struggles of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and other regions of the world and at the height of the Cold War. Menon said that India received support from a whole host of countries, including the US. "In 1962, look at how much support we got across the world. And what it did to China's reputation in the third world was quite devastating. So I don't think it was a failure of non-alignment policy, it was a failure of China policy. "People take stands based on their interests. India got support from across the world. Some of it was ideological, from the US and so on. Whatever the reason, but you did get support across the world from a whole host of countries," Menon said. The former Indian ambassador to China noted that the success or failure of a policy "should be judged by the outcome, not what others say about it". "So I think we need to be a little careful in how we judge these things. And we shouldn't judge the success or failure of a policy by what other people are saying, or whether they are saying what we are saying. Ultimately it's the outcome that matters. You should measure what happens on the ground, what results were actually achieved," he added. The book, published by Juggernaut, traces the origin of non-alignment and its relevance in India's foreign policy since Jawaharlal Nehru's conceptualisation of it at the height of the Cold War. Nayudu explores Indian diplomatic influence in four major international events: the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Hungarian Revolution, and the Congo Crisis. Former ambassador Shyam Saran noted that the system Nehru had put in place emphasised "India has to stand for something more than itself". "Nehru and the system that he put in place always emphasised India has to stand for something more than itself. That there is a certain larger space that needs to be occupied and when we talk about the UN, when we talk about international cooperation, or working together for different causes, what is very important is the spirit of international solidarity," Saran said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
Satellite images, hundreds of coffins in Pakistan are testament to success of Op Sindoor: BJP's Dinesh Sharma
Dinesh Sharma stated Operation Sindoor's success is evident through satellite images and coffins in Pakistan. India initiated the operation responding to the Pahalgam terror attack. Indian forces targeted terror infrastructure, eliminating over 100 terrorists. Pakistan retaliated, prompting India to damage radar, communication centers, and airfields. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh confirmed the destruction of Pakistani fighter aircraft during the operation. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma on Saturday said the satellite images and the hundreds of coffins in Pakistan are a testament to the success of Operation Sindoor "The satellite images that have come in, along with the hundreds of coffins in Pakistan, are a testament to the success of Operation Sindoor. The frustration of one developed nation is also showing that, despite their efforts, they could not save Pakistan. Their 11 camps were destroyed and many of their airstrips, from where terrorist activities were executed, also came under the radar of our attacks,' the Rajya Sabha MP launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 as a decisive military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. The Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, leading to the death of over 100 terrorists affiliated with terror outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen After the attack, Pakistan retaliated with cross-border shelling across the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir as well as attempted drone attacks along the border regions, following which India launched a coordinated attack and damaged radar infrastructure, communication centres and airfields across 11 airbases, including Nur Khan airbase in today, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said that the Indian Armed Forces had destroyed at least five Pakistfighter aircraft and one large aircraft during Operation Sindoor."We have at least five fighters with confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT aircraft or an AEW&Caircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about," Air Chief Marshal AP Singh also credited the "political will" of the Central government for the success of Operation Sindoor that allowed the Indian Armed Forces (IAF) to conduct the operations without any constraints."A key reason for success was the presence of political will. There was very clear political will and very clear direction given to us. No restrictions were put on us... If there were any constraints, they were self-made. The forces decided what the rules of engagement would be. We decided how we wanted to control the escalation. "We had full freedom to plan and execute," Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said.
