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Time of India
07-07-2025
- Time of India
Sinking of MSC Elsa 3: Kerala government files admiralty suit, seeks Rs 9,531 crore damages
Kochi: The state govt on Monday filed an admiralty suit in the Kerala high court, seeking the arrest of the vessel MSC MV Akiteta II, currently within Indian territorial waters at Vizhinjam Seaport, to recover maritime claims amounting to Rs 9,531 crore for the environmental and economic damage caused by the sinking of the cargo vessel MSC Elsa 3 off the Kerala coast on May 25. The bench of Justice M A Abdul Hakhim, which considered the petition, ordered the interim arrest of MSC Akiteta II until July 10. The petition was brought before the court for consideration around 5.30pm as an urgent matter, given the likelihood that the vessel could depart from Vizhinjam Port by Tuesday morning. This marks the first instance in the state's history where a claim seeking compensation of such a magnitude was filed. No court fees were required to be deposited as the petitioner was the state govt. The state has also sought interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the suit until the date of judgment, and 12% per annum thereafter until the realisation of the amount. MSC Elsa 3, a Liberian-flagged vessel, capsized 13 nautical miles off the Thottappally spillway in Alappuzha, while en route from Vizhinjam Port to Kochi Port. The petition was filed by Seeram Sambasiva Rao, special secretary of the environment department, who was designated as the principal impact assessment officer by the department of disaster management. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Providers are furious: Internet access without a subscription! Techno Mag Learn More Undo Citing scientific assessments and departmental reports, the petition quantified the maritime claims as follows: Rs 8,626.12 crore towards pollution damage; Rs 378.48 crore for environmental restoration and preventive measures; and Rs 526.51 crore for economic loss suffered by the local fishing community, aggregating to a total claim of Rs 9,531 crore. The state further submitted that MSC Elsa 3 and MSC Akiteta II are "sister vessels" under the common commercial, financial, and technical control of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) of Geneva, despite their formal registration under separate shell companies. The petition alleged that various vessels, such as MSC Manasa F, MSC Melissa, MSC Flora, etc., follow a similar pattern of registration, while sharing the same operational address and control, indicating a deliberate corporate structure intended to frustrate or evade maritime claim enforcement. The govt contended that such structuring amounts to a fraudulent device to defeat genuine claims. It further asserted that even if MSC were to be treated as a demise charterer, the high court is empowered under Section 5 of the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017, to arrest the vessel in question. Advocate general K Gopalakrishna Kurup, assisted by govt pleader Parvathy Kottol, represented the State of Kerala.
The Hindu
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Kerala State IT mission organises AI conference
The Kerala State IT Mission (KSITM) in collaboration with the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and the ICT Academy of Kerala on Thursday organised 'K-AI: The Guiding Hand of Smart Governance', a conference aimed at fostering structured dialogue between government departments and the start-up ecosystem to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) in addressing governance challenges. The forum brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, including senior government officials, start-up innovators, and domain experts, to discuss and develop AI-enabled solutions based on real-world departmental use cases. Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak inaugurated the event. Special Secretary, Electronics & IT Department, Seeram Sambasiva Rao, delivered the keynote address. Sandip Kumar, Director, Kerala State IT Mission, was present and Anoop Ambika, CEO, KSUM, were present. A flagship initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI solutions across government departments, Kerala AI (K-AI) envisions a collaborative ecosystem where emerging technologies meet public service delivery, enabling smarter, faster, and citizen-centric governance. Representatives of KSUM-backed start-ups made presentation on AI-based solutions that are helpful for various governing processes including data analysis and mapping systems. Various departments and State establishments that participated in the workshop presented some of the problems peculiar to each of them to ascertain if AI-based solutions developed by the startup ecosystem in the state could be leveraged.
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
HCLTech expands Kerala footprint with T'puram delivery centre
Tpuram: Global technology powerhouse HCLTech further strengthened its presence in the state with the launch of a new delivery centre at Technopark Phase III, Niagara Building, on Monday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The move came just seven months after the inauguration of its first unit in Kochi in Oct 2024. Industries minister P Rajeeve stated in a Facebook post on Sunday that the rapid expansion of the multinational company reflects the company's confidence in the state. "When HCLTech set up two units in within seven months, at Infopark, Kochi, tomorrow, their second Kerala unit begins operations at Technopark ," he said. The Thiruvananthapuram centre, inaugurated in the presence of dignitaries including Seeram Sambasiva Rao (Special Secretary, Electronics & IT), Fabrizio Salvatore (Head of Infrastructure Services & Information Security, Allianz Technology), Jayant Tulsiani (Branch Head, Allianz Technology India), and Sudip Lahiri (EVP & Head of Financial Services – Europe & UKI, HCLTech), will focus on delivering projects across AI, GenAI, Cloud and other emerging technologies to global clients. HCLTech, boasting over 223,000 employees across 60 countries, delivers solutions spanning digital, engineering, cloud, and AI domains. The new Technopark facility aims to build an innovation-driven learning environment and provide promising career pathways for IT professionals in the region.
