VOL. XXXlI No. 159 CHENNAI : Monday, August 2, 2010 Annual Subscription: Rs. 1200/- Tel : 25211283 / 1519 / 42166351, Fax : 25222990 E-mail : [email protected] / [email protected]Website : www.eximin.net Continued on page 24 l 26 Pages New Customs Exchange Rates w.e.f August 2010 appears on page - 25 Appointments See pages - 4,11 & 12 South East CEO Conclave and Awards 2010 Invigorating deliberations and acknowledgment of excellence make for an event to remember Trade Notice See page - 5 Exim News Service CHENNAI, Aug. 1 I T was without doubt an evening and night to remem- ber. A riveting panel discussion, thought-provoking keynote ad- dresses and the grand finale in the form of an exhilarating awards function were the high- lights of the second South East CEO Conclave and Awards 2010, which was held in front of a packed and enthralled regional trade at the Hotel Taj Coroman- del here on July 31. Many of the leading lights of the industry enhanced the event with their participation and as- sociation, as delegates, panelists, award winners, jury members and event partners. Honouring SECC 2010 with his presence was Mr K. Mohandas, Secretary, Union Ministry of Shipping, who came all the way from New Delhi to be the Chief Guest at the ously focusing on improving cargo movement through coastal shipping and inland wa- terways transport (IWT), initially on the Ganges from Kolkata to Allahabad (NW1) and the Kerala backwaters. Public-pri- vate partnership (PPP) in IWT event. Mr Mohan V. Chunkath, CEO of Tamil Nadu Maritime Board, graced the event as Guest of Honour, while Mr D. T. Joseph, former Shipping Secretary, played a key role in bringing SECC 2010 to fruition as the Jury Chair- man and overall event Chairman. Mr Mohandas, in his key- note address, said that there would be practical difficulties in having a separate Ministry of Lo- gistics, as was suggested by some sections of the trade, though he felt that it was a “good idea”. He, however, stressed that a coordi- nated and integrated approach was needed in planning and implementing all logistics-re- lated activities. The Secretary pointed out that the government was seri- Mr. K. Mohandas Mr. Mohan V. Chunkath Mr. D.T. Joseph Panelists from Left to Right : Ms. Vinita Venkatesh, Mr. M.L.N. Acharyalu, Capt. Anil Singh, Mr. J. Krishnan, Capt. Subhash Kumar, Mr. Xavier Britto, Mr. Tommy Low, Mr. Saju Chacko, Dr. R. Sunitha Sundar List of Award Winners See page 23 was also being encouraged, he said. Mr Mohandas underscored that the Southern and Eastern regions were gaining in impor- tance in the country’s maritime sector, especially as a result of the government’s ‘Look East’ policy and increasing trade with China. He emphasised that In- dia needed to catch up with China in maritime sector devel- opment, in segments such as in- frastructure and shipbuilding, where we had a long way to go but it was not impossible, espe- cially with the support of the
Transcript
VOL. XXXlI No. 159 CHENNAI : Monday, August 2, 2010 Annual Subscription: Rs. 1200/-
Invigorating deliberations andacknowledgment of excellencemake for an event to remember
Trade NoticeSee page - 5
Exim News ServiceCHENNAI, Aug. 1
IT was without doubt anevening and night to remem-
ber. A riveting panel discussion,thought-provoking keynote ad-dresses and the grand finale inthe form of an exhilaratingawards function were the high-lights of the second South EastCEO Conclave and Awards2010, which was held in front ofa packed and enthralled regionaltrade at the Hotel Taj Coroman-del here on July 31.
Many of the leading lights ofthe industry enhanced the eventwith their participation and as-sociation, as delegates, panelists,award winners, jury membersand event partners.
Honouring SECC 2010 withhis presence was Mr K.Mohandas, Secretary, UnionMinistry of Shipping, whocame all the way from New Delhito be the Chief Guest at the
ously focusing on improvingcargo movement throughcoastal shipping and inland wa-terways transport (IWT), initiallyon the Ganges from Kolkata toAllahabad (NW1) and theKerala backwaters. Public-pri-vate partnership (PPP) in IWT
event. Mr Mohan V.Chunkath, CEO of TamilNadu Maritime Board, gracedthe event as Guest of Honour,while Mr D. T. Joseph, formerShipping Secretary, played akey role in bringing SECC 2010to fruition as the Jury Chair-man and overall eventChairman.
Mr Mohandas, in his key-note address, said that there
would be practical difficulties inhaving a separate Ministry of Lo-gistics, as was suggested by somesections of the trade, though hefelt that it was a “good idea”. He,however, stressed that a coordi-nated and integrated approachwas needed in planning andimplementing all logistics-re-lated activities.
The Secretary pointed outthat the government was seri-
Mr. K. Mohandas Mr. Mohan V. Chunkath Mr. D.T. Joseph
Panelists from Left to Right : Ms. Vinita Venkatesh, Mr. M.L.N. Acharyalu, Capt. Anil Singh, Mr. J. Krishnan,
Capt. Subhash Kumar, Mr. Xavier Britto, Mr. Tommy Low, Mr. Saju Chacko, Dr. R. Sunitha Sundar
List of Award WinnersSee page 23
was also being encouraged, hesaid.
Mr Mohandas underscoredthat the Southern and Easternregions were gaining in impor-tance in the country’s maritimesector, especially as a result ofthe government’s ‘Look East’policy and increasing trade withChina. He emphasised that In-dia needed to catch up withChina in maritime sector devel-opment, in segments such as in-frastructure and shipbuilding,where we had a long way to gobut it was not impossible, espe-cially with the support of the
24 Chennai, Monday, August 2, 2010
Continued from page 1
private sector.He said that a lot of develop-
ments were happening in theMajor and non-major ports ofthe country, and highlightedthat the sector grew by 14 percent last year during the reces-sion. But things need to happenat a much faster pace, he said,for which was required, alongwith increased capacities, betterconnectivity, including IT andshipping-related communicationtechnology, and improved qual-ity of service.
Mr D. T. Joseph asked thetrade to develop improved pa-rameters for enhancing serviceefficiency and customer satisfac-tion, and give constructive sug-gestions to the Ministry of Ship-ping on relevant legislation.
Pointing out that non-majorports are seen to be more “dy-namic” than Major Ports, hecalled on the latter to addresstheir deficiencies and the rea-sons for delays. He lamented thefact that not much foreign in-vestment had come into the ship-ping sector, as compared to ports,even though 100 per cent wasallowed, due to “bureaucracy,delays and harassment”.
The former Secretary calledon the trade to work towardsbringing more visibility to themaritime industry, for which hehad, while in office, pushed forthe formation of a countrywide“maritime constituency”.
He complimented MrMohandas for his initiatives forthe betterment of the maritimesector, especially his proposal todevelop an Indian Ports Act cov-ering all the port facilities in thecountry. He also asked the tradeto take advantage of MrMohandas’ accessibility.
He highlighted that therewas now a very vibrant mari-time sector on the East Coast.
Mr Chungath pointed outthat Tamil Nadu, which has 23non-major ports, of which 16were captive, now had a portdevelopment policy in placewith focus on captive handling.
The Tamil Nadu MaritimeBoard had initiated measures toexpand the maritime develop-ment horizons in the state andwas now looking at shipbuildingand ship repair yards. It was alsoencouraging the captive ports tojoin hands to handle a widerrange of cargo.
The end of the war in SriLanka also presented the state in-creased opportunities in cargo andpassenger movement, he said.
Captivating panel discus-sion
The panel discussion, whichhad the theme ‘South East In-
Invigorating deliberations and acknowledgment...dia: The Logistics Chain &Related Infrastructure -- De-velopment, Trends & Vision’,was proficiently moderated byMr J. Krishnan, Presidentof Air Cargo Agents Associa-tion of India.
It was a fascinating delibera-tion which was kicked off by DrR. Sunitha Sundar, Advo-cate, who made the point thatwhile courts gave due impor-tance to maritime-related cases,there was maybe a shortage ofjudges who had expertise in thesector, technical experts to sortout specific issues and lack oflegal research. Fewer lawyerspracticed maritime law, shepointed out, adding that probablyit had not been given due aca-demic priority.
She, however, stressed thatjudges were fair in addressingthese cases and that there hadbeen many successes in arbi-tration and mediation.
Ms Vinita Venkatesh, Se-nior V-P, South and East In-dia, Samsara Group, wantedthe terminal operators to helpthe local shipping trade/agenciesto service customers better, andshow a little more flexibility withregard to last minute cargoes.
She also suggested that theyliaison with senior levels of gov-ernment to help improve thingslike the condition of the roadsconnecting the ports.
Mr Saju Chacko, Manag-ing Director of Caravel Ship-ping, listed the many advan-tages of coastal shipping andcalled for government encour-agement to develop it to its po-tential. He also wanted it to beproperly integrated with the restof the supply chain and stressedthe need for having operatorsproviding integrated services inthe sector, for which some kindof legislation was essential.
Major ports faced challengesnot only from non-major portsbut also from other Major Ports,pointed out Capt. SubhashKumar, Chairman of ChennaiPort Trust. Efficient and trans-parent service, high productivitylevels and competitive costs were,therefore, essential for ports toattract customers, he said.
He complimented DPWorld’s Chennai Container Ter-minal for its global standards ofproductivity with zero accidents.
He expressed his support forthe corporatisation of MajorPorts, saying that it will go a longway in improving things, espe-cially expediting decision-makingfor infrastructure augmentation.
The Chairman also high-lighted some of the initiativesunder way to facilitate cargomovement in and out of the
Port.Mr M. L. N. Acharyulu,
Executive Director ofKaraikal Port Pvt. Ltd, saidthat a greenfield port operatorshould focus on total integratedlogistics, especially encompass-ing connectivity, besides effi-ciency and transparency. Thechallenges of evacuation neededto be worked on from Day 1, heemphasised.
New ports could be captive,but also needed to be flexible tohandle a variety of cargoes, heunderscored.
Mr Tommy Low, GeneralManager of PSA Chennai,touched upon the need for dedi-cated roads for cargo movementin and out of Chennai Port andbetter gate management, con-sidering that today the Porthandled a variety of cargo.
On the role of the Tariff Au-thority for Major Ports (TAMP),he said that while its mandatewas to protect public interest, itshould also look at how to boosteconomic activity. He expressedsatisfaction that TAMP had beenevolving, from having a royaltyshare concept, to cost-plus andnow to upfront tariff.
The soon-to-be-commis-sioned Vallarpadam ICTT wouldhelp the industry save Rs 600crore in losses due to tranship-ment outside the country(“double handling”), facilitate im-proved efficiencies, attractlarger vessels and, importantly,create a modern facility tohandle the huge projected boxtraffic in the country in the com-ing years, highlighted Capt.Anil Singh, Senior Vice-President and Managing Di-rector, DP World IndianSubcontinent.
The ICTT will not be a threatto Colombo port, he stressed, forthere was enough cargo for all.
Mr Xavier Britto, Chair-man of the Indev Group, un-derscored the need for a sepa-rate Ministry of Logistics, con-sidering that the sector was get-ting organised and was nolonger fragmented, and was onthe verge of a major transfor-mation due to the proposedGoods and Services Tax (GST),Direct Taxes Code (DTC), im-provements in technology etc.
He pitched for developing lo-gistics parks (an “independentdry port”), with ICDs, Customsbonding facilities etc., which willhugely bring down logistics costs.He also called for giving tax holi-day for developing warehousingfacilities.
The panelists also interactedwith the audience, during whichsome of the issues touched uponwere the diligent implementa-
tion of the new 24x7 Customsworking, other agencies alsobeing in tune with Customs onthis, the need for reworkingsome of the country’s very oldmaritime-related laws so as tokeep up with the changingtimes, and the need for airfreightto adopt some of the best prac-tices of sea freight handling.
Earlier, there were presen-tations by Mr EnnarasuKarunesan, Director/CEO,DP World Chennai, MsRagini Peter, Vice-President(Business Development),Sricity SEZ & DTZ, and Capt.A. V. Rajendra, Group Execu-tive Director, Global ExpressLines.
Mr Karunesan high-lighted the massive improve-ments that have taken place inthe box trade with regard to ef-ficiency, productivity, ship sizeetc. over the years, and how CCThad been excelling in all the pa-rameters.
Some of the concerns, ac-cording to him, were the highvessel-related charges, poorconnecting infrastructure, hightransportation costs and lack ofdevelopment in coastal shipping.
Capt. Rajendra talkedabout how Global Express Lines,which is mainly into project/niche cargo handling, hadgrown from strength to strengthsince its inception in 2006. It wasnow looking at tapping the op-portunities arising from the endof the war in Sri Lanka, namely,massive rebuilding of parts ofthe country, and increased tradewith India and other countries.
Ms Raghini Peter ex-pounded on the salient features ofSricity, South India’s largest multi-product SEZ and DTZ, which wasideally located on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border and wellconnected by all modes.
Its development model wasthat of a world class facilitywhere one could “work, live,learn and play,” she pointed out.
The last, but probably themost anticipated and excitingpart of the programme, was theSECC 2010 awards given out in27 categories. In addition, twostalwarts were honoured fortheir Lifetime of services to thetrade, and a company for corpo-rate social responsibility.
Besides, two trade bodieswere honoured for 50 years ofservice to stakeholders, andChennai Customs for generat-ing the highest revenue.
The event concluded with anetworking cocktail dinner.
The event received kudosfrom one and all, who were alllooking forward to the next SouthEast CEO Conclave and Awards.
23 Chennai, Monday, August 2, 2010
Major Port .......................................................................................................................................... Chennai Port Trust
Container Terminal ........................................................................................................................... DP World Chennai
Non Major Port .................................................................................................................................. Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd.
Main Line Container Operator .......................................................................................................... Maersk Line
Container Feeder Operator ............................................................................................................... Bengal Tiger Line
Container Freight Station ................................................................................................................. Sical Distriparks Ltd.
Inland Container Depot ..................................................................................................................... Container Corporation of India Ltd.
Airport ................................................................................................................................................ Airports Authority of India - Chennai Airport
Maritime Academy ............................................................................................................................. AMET University
Special Jury Award ........................................................................................................................... Madras Homeward Freight Conference Society
News Maker ........................................................................................................................................ Mr. Xavier Britto, Chairman, Indev Group
Personality - Special Achievement .................................................................................................. Dr. P. Vijayan, Vice Chancellor, IMU
Corporate Social Responsibility ...................................................................................................... Dr. Shri Prakash, Chairman,............................................................................................................................................................ A.S. Shipping Agencies Pvt. Ltd.
............................................................................................................................................................ Mr. G.R.K. Reddy, Chairman, Marg Group
Logistics Company of the Year ........................................................................................................ Sical Logistics Ltd.
Lifetime Achievement ....................................................................................................................... Mr. K.C. Raman
............................................................................................................................................................ Dr. Jose Paul
Category Winner
LIST OF WINNERSLIST OF WINNERSLIST OF WINNERSLIST OF WINNERSLIST OF WINNERS
