PIB Summary- 11th July, 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

International Maritime Organization

Why in News?

A high-level Indian delegation from India is set to participate in the 132nd session of the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London.

International Maritime Organization (IMO):

• The IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) responsible for regulating global shipping and preventing marine pollution caused by ships.
• It was established in 1948 following a UN conference in Geneva and officially came into existence in 1958.

Membership:

• The IMO has 175 Member States and three Associate Members, with its headquarters located in London, United Kingdom.
• India became a member of the IMO in 1959.

Role:

• The primary role of the IMO is to create a fair and effective regulatory framework for the global shipping industry, with the goal of universal adoption and implementation.
• It addresses legal matters related to shipping, including issues of liability and compensation, and facilitates international maritime traffic.
• The organization celebrates World Maritime Day on the last Thursday of every September to emphasize the importance of shipping and maritime activities.

Structure of IMO:

• IMO is governed by an assembly of members, which convenes every two years, and a council comprising 40 members, elected by the assembly for two-year terms.
• The Assembly serves as the highest governing body, while the IMO Council, acting as the executive organ, supervises the organization’s work, particularly in maritime safety and pollution prevention.
• IMO’s activities are carried out through five committees and several subcommittees responsible for developing and adopting international conventions, codes, resolutions, and guidelines.

India’s Engagement with IMO:

• India holds Category B status in the IMO Council, reflecting its ongoing commitment to maritime affairs.
• India’s Vision 2030 aims to bolster its representation at the IMO by appointing permanent representatives at IMO London.
• The Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 outlines goals to enhance India’s global maritime presence, including establishing a dedicated IMO cell, designating a permanent representative at IMO headquarters, and implementing the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Master Plan.

PM GatiShakti

Why in News?

The 74th meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) under PM GatiShakti was convened in New Delhi. The meeting focused on evaluating five significant infrastructure projects from various Ministries.

About PM Gati Shakti:

• It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc.
• Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, agri zones will be covered to improve connectivity & make Indian businesses more competitive.
• It will also leverage technology extensively including spatial planning tools with ISRO imagery
• developed by BiSAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics).    
• The multi-modal connectivity will provide integrated and seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another.
• It will facilitate the last mile connectivity of infrastructure and also reduce travel time for people.
• PM GatiShakti will provide the public and business community information regarding the upcoming connectivity projects, other business hubs, industrial areas and surrounding environment.
• This will enable the investors to plan their businesses at suitable locations leading to enhanced synergies.
• It will create multiple employment opportunities and give a boost to the economy.
• It will improve the global competitiveness of local products by cutting down the logistics costs and improving the supply chains, and also ensure proper linkages for local industry & consumers.

PM GatiShakti is based on six pillars:

1. Comprehensiveness: It will include all the existing and planned initiatives of various Ministries and Departments with one centralized portal. Each and every Department will now have visibility of each other’s activities providing critical data while planning & execution of projects in a comprehensive manner.
2. Prioritization: Through this, different Departments will be able to prioritize their projects through cross–sectoral interactions.
3. Optimization: The National Master Plan will assist different ministries in planning for projects after identification of critical gaps. For the transportation of the goods from one place to another, the plan will help in selecting the most optimum route in terms of time and cost.
4. Synchronization: Individual Ministries and Departments often work in silos. There is lack of coordination in planning and implementation of the project resulting in delays. PM GatiShakti will help in synchronizing the activities of each department, as well as of different layers of governance, in a holistic manner by ensuring coordination of work between them.
5. Analytical: The plan will provide the entire data at one place with GIS based spatial planning and analytical tools having 200+ layers, enabling better visibility to the executing agency.
6. Dynamic: All Ministries and Departments will now be able to visualize, review and monitor the progress of cross-sectoral projects, through the GIS platform, as the satellite imagery will give on-ground progress periodically and progress of the projects will be updated on a regular basis on the portal. It will help in identifying the vital interventions for enhancing and updating the master plan.