 "Ports, Shipping, Waterways")
Union minister of ports shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday introduced the Coastal Shipping Bill 2024 in Lok Sabha, which aims to remove general trading licence requirements for Indian vessels on coastal waters.
The Bill will also enable prohibition of trade in the coastal water without licence by vessels other than Indian ones. It will permit inland vessels to engage in coastal trading subject to certain conditions, said the minister in his statement of object and reasons.
The proposed legislation, if passed, will empower the director-general of shipping, a government-appointed senior bureaucrat, to issue a licence after taking into
