Latest news with #MMD
India Gazette
15-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
"Flawed": Congress's Manickam Tagore on new attendance system in Parliament
New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): Calling the new attendance system in Parliament 'flawed,' Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Tuesday called for the need for 'systematic reforms' in the Parliament. In a post on X, the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Virudhunagar claimed that the new multimedia device for marking attendance, which is set to be introduced in the upcoming Monsoon session, failed during the voting of the Waqf amendment Bill. 'The new multimedia device for marking attendance from Lok Sabha seats will be rolled out this Monsoon Session. But we already saw it fail during the Waqf vote, where the system didn't function reliably. Why repeat a flawed system?' the Congress MP said. 'If attendance marking is about transparency and accountability, why are the Prime Minister and ministers exempted? Shouldn't the PM lead by example instead of being above the process?' he said, emphasising the need for mandatory attendance and transparent participation metrics in the parliament. 'It would reveal how many days the PM is actually present in the Lok Sabha--typically just 3 to 4 days out of 18 to 28 in a session,' he added. 'Instead of merely digitizing attendance, we need systemic reforms: Mandatory attendance for all, Transparent participation metrics, Auto-publication of speaking records & voting behaviour. Digital tools are only as good as the intent behind them. If accountability is selective, the system defeats its purpose,' Tagore further said. This came as the backdrop of the Lok Sabha deciding to introduce a Multi-Media Device (MMD) system to register the attendance of their MPs for this Monsoon Session of Parliament starting July 21. The move came as part of its ongoing efforts to modernise and digitise Parliamentary functioning. the Lok Sabha Secretariat has undertaken a number of initiatives under the guidance and leadership of the Lok Sabha Speaker to enhance transparency, inclusivity, and accessibility of Parliamentary processes for Members and the public alike. To promote a digitally empowered working environment for Members of Parliament, the Lok Sabha Chamber has been equipped with dedicated multimedia conferencing devices at every seat. In order to save time and resources, a new feature has been added and now all members will be able to mark attendance through MMD (Multi Media Device) installed at their respective seats. This will reduce one stage and save time for members on a daily basis. In a significant step towards linguistic inclusivity and citizen engagement, the Lok Sabha Secretariat is now publishing daily Parliamentary business and agenda papers in 12 languages using AI based tools--Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu. (ANI)
NDTV
14-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
From Monsoon Session, A Hi-Tech Attendance System For Lok Sabha MPs
New Delhi: Members of the Lok Sabha will now be able to mark attendance at their seats in the House, addressing a very old complaint, sources have said. Marking attendance has not been easy for MPs under the current system, since many reach parliament together at 11 am, and have to rush in without signing so they do not miss the session. The MPs are considered present only after sign the register and they receive the daily allowance. There are some who just sign the register and leave without attending the day's session. New System To Mark Attendance According to sources in the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has taken the new initiative in the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting from July 21 and continue till August 21. MPs will now be able to mark their attendance through a few processes - all hi-tech. Under this, a Multi Model Device (MMD) has been installed on the seats allotted to MPs. Through it, MPs will now be able to mark their attendance during the session. The Three Options All MPs have been given three options to mark their attendance through the MMD. The first is Multi Media Card (MMC), through which attendance can be recorded. Besides, every MP will be given a pin number which will be entered in MMD and attendance will be recorded. The third option is biometric -- MPs will be able to register their attendance by placing their fingers in MMD. Both Systems Available In Monsoon Session Sources said the current system will also be maintained along with the new system in the monsoon session. Under the current system, all MPs have to reach the Parliament House and sign the register kept outside the Lok Sabha. Under this process, many MPs reach Parliament together, due to which there is a crowd and many are unable to sign in the hurry. A new system has been implemented to solve this problem. After the feedback of the MPs regarding the new system, it will be fully implemented from the winter session. MPs Sign And Leave It is often seen that some MPs just sign in the attendance register and go back and do not attend the session. In such a situation, if attendance can be marked by going to one's seat inside the House, it would also enhance attendance. It is not clear yet whether a similar system will be implemented in Rajya Sabha.
New Indian Express
05-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Salvage of MSC Elsa 3 to begin in August
KOCHI: The salvage operations of MSC Elsa 3, which sank into the depths of Arabian Sea off Kerala coast, will begin in August, said sources with the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) on Friday. Smit Salvage, the new salvage team engaged by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has submitted an action plan in this regard. T and T Salvage, which was initially engaged to recover the sunken vessel, stopped operations on June 12, which spread a shadow of uncertainty over the salvage operations. The fishermen community had also raised doubts that MSC was trying to wash its hands of the incident. However, sources at the Directorate General of Shipping said that though MSC is not the direct owner of Elsa 3, they cannot shrug off the responsibility as there are international conventions regarding such operations. The Liberian-flagged vessel was chartered for operations by MSC, which is a normal practice in the shipping sector. The Smit Salvage has informed that the salvage operations will be launched in August or when the weather conditions become favourable. They haven't arrived in Kochi, but have informed the MMD that they will arrive with all support facilities when the turbulence ends. Meanwhile, a team from the MSC shipping company is staying in Kochi. The captain and the crew members of the vessel are also in Kochi. The MMD principal officer, who is investigating the safety lapses behind the incident, has submitted an interim report to the DG Shipping and is waiting for the recovery of the voice data recorder to complete the probe. Meanwhile, MSC decided to cancel the contract with T and T Salvage as it lacked facilities for the operations. 'They were seeking help from the Kochi port and Coast Guard for the operations, which raised doubts that they lack the technical facility to conduct the salvage operations,' said an officer.
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bhadrakali temple 'Bonalu plan' stirs row: Locals, priests, MLAs call it against tradition; endowments dept urged to withdraw directive
Bhadrakali temple WARANGAL: The Endowment department's directive to celebrate Bonalu at the historic Bhadrakali temple has stirred a row, drawing objections from local political leaders, priests, and citizens alike. According to official records, a memo was issued by additional commissioner of endowments, MMD Krishnaveni, to the executive officer of Bhadrakali temple instructing her to organise Bonalu celebrations at the temple, similar to the festival observed at the Lal Darwaza temple. Ruling party MLA Nayini Rajender Reddy reportedly approached Endowments minister Konda Surekha with a request to revoke the decision. "The Bhadrakali Temple is not just historic but also a deeply revered spiritual site for the local population. While Bonalu is an important festival, it has traditionally not been associated with this temple," he said. Meanwhile, the Warangal West MLA also weighed in, stating that Bonalu is traditionally celebrated in honour of village deities (grama devatas), not in temples like Bhadrakali, which hold a different religious significance.
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Technical failure in ballast water management could have led to sinking of ship, say officials
Preliminary findings of the probe into the sinking of container vessel MSC ELSA 3 off the Kerala coast with 640 containers on board point to technical failure in ballast water management, which in turn caused the ship to tilt over 20 degrees and sink, officials of the Shipping Ministry and the Mercantile Marine department (MMD) said here on Wednesday. The officials included Director General of Shipping Shyam Jagannathan; Nautical Advisor to the Government of India Capt. Abul Kalam Azad, Chief Surveyor of the Directorate General of Shipping Ajith Sukumaran, and Principal Officer of the MMD's Kochi office J. Senthil Kumar. Mr. Jagannathan said none of the 50 containers that were washed ashore along the 120-km coastline of Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram during the past few days had any hazardous cargo like calcium carbide. Most containers were empty, while the others had cotton bales and plastic pellets. The containers will be recovered in two days and disposed of. 'No sabotage' The prime focus now is on recovering oil and other pollutants from the vessel, followed by containers which are said to have cargo like ethylene polymers. The ship's owner firm MSC has roped in global firms with expertise in retrieving such cargo, while the Indian Coast Guard's specialised oil spill response team has been deployed to prevent damage to marine resources. There are internationally binding norms to settle insurance claims and compensate fishers from the Kerala coast for their loss of livelihood, he said and added that prima facie there was no reason to suspect sabotage. Terming the sinking incident as the largest along the Indian coast, Mr. Sukumaran said that preliminary inference pointed to mechanical failure in ballast water management, a safety precaution that is taken in all ships to overcome the effect of 'rolling and pitching' while on the sea, and the subsequent loss of power. This could have been caused by the malfunctioning of the ballast management valves. Old ships On several shipping firms deploying old vessels to Indian ports (the sunk ship was 28 years old), he said many stakeholders had expressed concern about the matter. Steps were under way to revise safety and other norms in this regard. The officials said that although the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) had not issued any age-related norms for ships, there were concerns about the operational efficiency of older vessels. Mr. Azad explained how a team of salvage specialists, naval architects, chemists, oil spill specialists, and divers was deployed to salvage the vessel and the containers, and to contain the effects of oil spillage and pollution. A total of four tugs have been mobilised as part of this. On the delay in officially declaring the contents of 13 containers having 'hazardous' cargo, he said the owner of the ship had said that they contained 'rubber chemicals' which were non-hazardous. While five of them were on the ship's deck, eight were secured within the vessel's 'cargo hold' area. According to the plan, oil spill in the vicinity of the sinking spot can be cleared by July 3. The ship was carrying 367 tonnes of very low sulfur fuel oil and 84 tonnes of marine diesel fuel.
