Parliament passes bill to provide greater autonomy to 12 major ports
New Delhi: Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to provide greater autonomy in decision-making to 12 major ports in the country and professionalise their governance by setting up boards.
The Major Ports Authority Bill, 2020 was passed through ballot votes with 84 in favour and 44 against it in the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha had on September 23, 2020 passed the bill.
Allaying fears of members, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Mansukh Mandaviya categorically said it was not intended towards privatisation of major ports and rather aimed at boosting their decision-making powers in order to compete with private ports.
The bill aims to provide for regulation, operation and planning of major ports in India and to vest the administration, control and management of such ports upon the boards of major port authorities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, be taken into consideration.
Taking a strong objection to some members remarks that it would result in ruining of the ports, the Minister said rather it would turn them into world class ports and enable board to take decision on their own.
In terms of volume, 70 per cent of cargo movement is through ports while 90 per cent in value terms.
India has 12 major ports -- Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Marmugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), V O Chidambarnar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia).
These together had handled 705 million tonnes (MT) of cargo in 2019-20.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
