nagapattinam l saturday l april 12, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Global Shipping Giants Set Sail for a Greener, cleaner Future agreement comes into force from 2028 The fee of $100 will be charged if nations have not contributed enough to the International Maritime Organization’s net-zero fund and their ships are not meeting their compliance target. Members of the International Maritime Organization — with the United States noticeably absent — reached the agreement which will come into force by 2028 The largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum tax of $100 for every tonne of carbon dioxide emitted by shipping vessels ‘historic, but more could’ve been done’ ■ ■ Some environmentalists present at the meeting called the emission taxes a “historic decision” but said more could have been achieved The tax doesn’t capture all emissions or drive enough emission reductions and it won’t raise enough revenue to help developing countries transition to greener shipping, said a shipping expert | P12 3% is the Emissions from shipping industry in global trade CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Grilling of Rana BJP seals poll deal; AIADMK to lead bloc focuses on ISI, Lashkar’s role Shah bats for coalition govt & common minimum programme in 2026, says BJP won’t interfere in AIADMK’s affairs T MURU G ANANDAM @ Chennai NIA gets 18-day custody, aims to unravel the conspiracy behind the 26/11 attacks in 2008 MU K E S H RAN J AN & J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi A day after Tahawwur Rana was extradited to India, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused was taken from his cell at the NIA headquarters to the interrogation room in the same building in the national capital on Friday. He was confronted with initial questions relating to his handlers in Pakistan, his funding and business partners, and sleeper cells in India with whom he was connected to, sources said. Rana was asked to provide details about the visit of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative Sajid Mir to India under the pretext of watching a cricket match and whether anyone accompanied Rana to the locations where he allegedly provided video footage to Mir. Rana’s interrogation will take place on three counts — establishing identity and his intent, the 26/11 attack and ISI nexus and his links with LeT. NIA also want details about who all helped Rana’s friend David Coleman Headley in India and who received money for it. Headley is one of the prime accused in the case. As part of the first round of questioning relating to establishing identity and intent, NIA sleuths tried to get his personal details, including his upbringing, education, family and career and his transition from a US Secretary of State welcomes extradition US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the extradition of Rana to India, calling it a long-overdue moment of justice for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks trained doctor to a conspirator in international terrorism, sources said. NIA interrogators also questioned him whethere his family knew about his alleged links to Headley and about how they planned and executed the terror plot, apart from his physical location on November 26, 2008, when the attacks began. During subsequent rounds of questioning, Rana is going to be asked when he met LeT chief Hafiz Saeed and what was the nature of their relationship. He will also be asked if he could identify other members of the LeT by name, face, or their role, the sources added. The final round of questioning will revolve around involvement of ISI, sources said. express read Nehru’s kin involved in fund diversion, says ED Chennai: The ED said evidence found during searches at places linked to relatives of Minister KN Nehru pointed to a “deep-rooted and systemic corruption” within the municipal administration department. Evidence suggests involvement of Nehru’s brother Ravichandran and son DMK MP Arun Nehru in fund diversion, says ED | P4 3 minors among 4 killed after motorbike rams auto Coimbatore: Four persons, including three minor boys, riding a motorbike were killed after their vehicle collided head-on with an autorickshaw near Alankombu at Sirumugai in Coimbatore district late on Thursday. None of them wore helmet, police said | P2 Nearly two years after they parted ways, the AIADMK and the BJP on Friday joined hands to resurrect their alliance to “unseat the corrupt DMK government” in the 2026 Assembly election. Union Minister Amit Shah, who declared the sealing of the alliance at a press meet in Chennai, declared that the NDA will fight the election under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level, and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami in Tamil Nadu. Signalling a tectonic shift in Tamil Nadu’s politics, when asked whether it will be a coalition government if the alliance wins, Shah answered in the affirmative. It is pertinent to note that the DMK and the AIADMK, which alternatively ruled the state for several decades, never yielded to a coalition government despite facing almost Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Edappadi K Palaniswami with AIADMK and BJP leaders in Chennai on Friday | p jawahar Nainar Nagenthran to be next TN BJP president Chennai: BJP legislator from Tirunelveli constituency, Nainar Nagenthran, is all set to become the next TN BJP chief, succeeding K Annamalai. Nagenthran, who was formerly with AIADMK, is the lone contestant for the post. He is set to be officially announced as new TN BJP chief on Saturday | P4 all elections in alliance with several other parties. The AIADMK exited the Why U.S. tariff war hurts China V i s m ay B a s u @ New Delhi The US is one of the biggest trading partners of China. It makes China particularly exposed to tariff pressures. According to data from Beijing’s customs authorities, in 2024, Chinese exports to the US exceeded $500 billion, accounting for 16.4% of the country’s total exports. It imports from the US were worth $143.5 billion, with much of that trade centred around agricultural products — particularly oilseeds and grains — according to the US Trade Representative’s office. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, head of a joint UN-WTO agency warned that the “economic , fallout from escalating US-China tariffs could be more damaging than cuts to foreign aid.” She added that this “escalation could result in an 80% drop in trade between the US and China, with catastrophic ripple effects globally”. According to experts, tariff restructuring would have serious ramifications on developing countries. An estimate published by the International Trade Centre suggests the tariff restructuring is going to cause a 3-7% decline in global trade and a 0.7% drop in global GDP, with developing economies being hit the hardest. The report, using Bangladesh as a case study, showed that US tariffs of 37% on textiles could cost $3.3 billion in economic losses for that country . As for Sri Lanka, its economic recovery would be impeded, as exports to the US have been tariffed at 44%. The US is the largest buyer of Sri Lanka’s exports (25% of its $12 billion merchandise exports goes to the US). Nations like Mauritius, Madagascar, Lesotho, and South Africa are also vulnerable. The potential revocation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), up for review in September, could further deepen the impact. shah’s power points at press meet Sharing of ministerial posts after election will be decided in consultation with alliance partners DMK raising issues like Sanatana Dharma, three-language policy, NEET, and delimitation to divert people’s attention from its failures DMK government is plagued by rampant corruption and atrocities against Dalits and women. Under Stalin, TN saw `39,000-crore liquor scam, sand mining scam, power scam, L-quotas scam, transport scam, money laundering, jobs scam, illegal raids, smuggling, and MGNREGA-related irregularities, Shah said NDA in September 2023, seven months before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, citing the “confrontational approach” of Tamil Nadu BJP’s state leadership without naming its presi- Mineral Share of Chinese Imports fuels, from and exports to the U.S. mineral oils and products Machinery, Electrical machinery, equipment and parts mechanical Optical, photographic or surgical instruments and appliances; apparatus, precision instruments and apparatus parts 14.1 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits 12.1 11.1 Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock and parts and accessories ALL Plastic values in and Aircraft, Per cent articles spacecraft and parts Pharma Chemical 7.8 7.7 im EX 5.5 4.9 3.8 3.4 3.1 po  r t po  r t 2.7 2.5 4 3.9 4.5 4.4 6 5.1 Plastic and articles Furniture & beddings 17.6 24 Machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof Iron and steel Toys, games and sports requirements; parts and accessories thereof Special classification provisions, goods not elsewhere classified Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted Apparel, clothing accessories not knitted or crocheted Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock and parts and accessories $500 bn Chinese exports to the U.S. in 2024 Electrical machinery and equipment Loose cannon Ponmudy loses DMK post over lewd remarks on Hindu sects E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai brisk blessings Devotees taking out a Lord Murugan idol in a procession on Panguni Uthiram (on Friday) at Kalapet near Puducherry | sriram r Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin on Friday removed senior party leader and minister K Ponmudy from the post of party deputy general secretary after his remarks on Shaivism and Vaishnavism with sexual overtones drew widespread criticism, including from DMK MP Kanimozhi and BJP state president K Annamalai. Rajya Sabha member Tiruchy Siva has been named as Pon- mudy’s replacement. A video of Ponmudy’s speech made at an event organised by Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) in Chennai on April 6, which went viral on Thursday night, sparked outrage on social media. DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said on ‘X’, “The speech of minister Ponmudy is not acceptable. For whatever reason he had spoken, such vulgar words are condemnable.” Annamalai, in a post on ‘X’, said, “This is DMK’s standard of political discourse in Tamil Nadu. Thiru Ponmudy was once the Higher Education Minister of TN and is now the Minister for Forests and Khadi, and the youth of Tamil Nadu are expected to tolerate this filth?” He added, “DMK’s relentless attacks on the pillars of Hindu Dharma (Saivam & Vainavam) won’t go unanswered forever,” tagging Stalin in the post. P5 dent K Annamalai. The change in BJP’s state leadership also happened on Friday with the party’s Assembly floor leader Nainar Nagenthran being the lone contender for the BJP top post. He is expected to take charge from Annamalai formally on Saturday Shah, how. ever, denied AIADMK had made any demands to remove Annamalai from the post for it to join the alliance. Though Palaniswami, Annamalai, Nagenthran and senior AIADMK leaders KP Munusamy and SP Velumani were on the dais, only Shah spoke. An official note from the BJP , summarising the remarks made by Shah, highlighted his answer to a question that the distribution of seats and allocation of ministries post election will be finalised in consultation with alliance partners at an appropriate time, indicating that the BJP is clear about being part of the government if the alliance wins. P5 warning sign Industrial output slows to 6-month low of 2.9% d i pa k m o n d a l @ New Delhi INDUSTRIAL output growth slowed to a six-month low of 2.9% in February, down from 5% in the previous year, amid growing concerns over the impact of the ongoing tariff war on economic growth. The decline was largely attributed to a high base effect, with the growth rate in February last year recorded at 5.6%. The slowdown was evident across two major categories, mining and manufacturing, with mining experiencing the most significant decline. Mining output growth declined to 1.6% in February compared to 4.4% in January and 8.1% in February last year. Manufacturing output growth also halved to 2.9% in February from 5.8% in January Electric. ity generation, however, maintained the momentum with 3.6% growth compared to 2.4% in January . According to Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA, while the growth performance of mining is expected to deteriorate in March 2025 relative to February 2025, it is likely to be offset by an uptick in electricity generation, amid steadymanufacturing growth. In use-based categories, consumer non-durables output shrank by 2.1% against a contraction of 0.3% witnessed in the previous month. This is the third month in a row when consumer non-durables output was in the negative territory Inter. mediaries goods production growth showed sharpest dip to 1.5% in February versus 5.3% in January Consumer durables . rose by 3.8% in February . Balancing act Debut of Pasmanda Muslim in the Union ministry possible in the next reshuffle RA J E S H K UMAR THA K UR @ New Delhi Amid Opposition criticism over the lack of a Muslim face in the Union ministry the BJP, led NDA government is reportedly looking to address it in the upcoming reshuffle, expected between May and July . Party sources indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving serious thought to including a Muslim member, potentially from the Pasmanda community, in line with his governance mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. The induction is expected to be made at the level of MoS (minister of state) in the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The BJP has two prominent Muslim faces — Gulam Ali Khatana, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Jamal Siddiqui, national president of the party’s Minority Morcha. If Siddiqui is inducted, he could subsequently get a Rajya Sabha ticket. While Siddiqui hails from Maharashtra, Khatana is from J&K. “The chosen one is expected to be from the Pasmanda cate gory, aligning with the PM’s emphasis on bringing the community into the national mainstream,” a senior BJP leader said. The reshuffle is expected to draw more attention after the party elects national president J P Nadda’s successor by the second week of May . The shake-up could affect at least a dozen ministries following evaluation of report cards on the perform- ance of incumbents by the Prime Minister’s Office. According to insiders, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, presently held by Kiren Rijiju, could be assigned a new face. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is also expected to see a change in leadership. The reshuffle could also impact the ministries of urban development, petroleum and natural gas, law and justice, development of North Eastern Regions, coal and mines, and electronics and information technology . Furthermore, the rule of ‘one person, one person’ is likely to be strictly enforced.