India re-elected to International Maritime Organisation Council with highest vote
London (PTI): India has been re-elected to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council with the highest vote in its category at elections held at its Assembly in London for the 2025-26 biennium.
India's election in Category B on Friday falls under the collection of 10 states with “the largest interest in international seaborne trade,” alongside Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The newly elected Council will meet for its 136th session on December 4 and will elect its Chair and Vice-Chair for the next biennium, the IMO said.
“India re-elected to the IMO Council securing the highest vote in Category B with 154 votes,” the Indian High Commission in London announced following the vote.
“We thank our partners for putting their trust in India, and pledge to continue to work for the global maritime sector,” the mission stated.
The IMO is the premier body that oversees the world's maritime sector, which in turn underpins international trade, transport and all maritime activities.
The Council is the executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the Assembly, for supervising the work of the organisation.
In July, the Secretary at the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways had launched India’s candidature for re-election as he revealed the ministry’s plans to invest USD 1 trillion in the sector over the next 25 years.
T K Ramachandran invited representatives from around the world to “partner with India in this quest for us to become one of the leading maritime nations in the world.”
“India embraces the philosophy of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future,' and we bring this vision to life through fostering robust and collaborative maritime efforts,” said Ramachandran at the time.
“Under our Vision 2047, we see maritime growth as a corner of global progress, and we deeply value a growing engagement with the IMO and its member states… we have several pillars, including shipbuilding, ship recycling, ship financing, ship ownership and ship flagging, the entire ecosystem,” he said.
The IMO Assembly normally meets once every two years in a regular session. It is responsible for approving the work programme, voting the budget and determining the financial arrangements of the organisation.
It also elects the organisation's 40-Member Council at these meetings for the next two-year period.
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Electorate in 9 states, UTs shrink by 1.70 crore after SIR
New Delhi (PTI): Voter base in nine states and Union territories has shrunk by more than 1.70 crore following the publication of final electoral rolls as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to official data.
The data shared by the chief electoral officers of Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa and Kerala on Saturday showed that their combined voter base stood at over 21.45 crore before the SIR exercise began on October 27 last year.
It shrunk to 19.75 crore after publication of their final electoral rolls this week, a net change of over 1.70 crore electors.
While the exercise, which kept the Election Commission in the spotlight, has been completed in Bihar, it is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories covering nearly 60 crore electors.
The remaining 40 crore electors will be covered in 17 states and five Union territories.
In Assam, a "special revision", instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.
Due to a variety of reasons, the SIR in the nine states and three Union territories have seen frequent tweaking in schedules.
As in Bihar, political parties have approached the Supreme Court challenging the exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
