COIMBATORE l saturday l april 12, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE city EDITION Global Shipping Giants Set Sail for a Greener, cleaner Future The largest shipping nations decided on Friday to impose a minimum tax of $100 for every tonne of carbon dioxide emitted by shipping vessels agreement comes into force from 2028 ‘historic, but more could’ve been done’ 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 ■ ■ 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 M U R U G ANANDAM @ Chennai NIA gets 18-day custody, aims to unravel the conspiracy behind the 26/11 attacks in 2008 in India and who received money for it. Headley is one of the prime accused in the case. A day after Tahawwur Rana As part of the first round of was extradited to India, the questioning relating to estab26/11 Mumbai terror attack ac- lishing identity and intent, NIA cused was taken out from his sleuths tried to get his personal cell at the NIA headquarters to details, including his upbringthe interrogation room in the ing, education, family and casame building in the national reer and his transition from a capital on Friday He was con- trained doctor to a conspirator . fronted with initial questions in international terrorism, relating to his handlers in Pa- sources said. kistan, his funding NIA interrogators and business partalso questioned him ners, and sleeper cells if his family knew in India with whom about his alle ged he was connected to, links to Headley and sources said. about how they Rana was asked to planned and executed provide details about the terror plot, apart Rubio the visit of Lashkarfrom his physical lowelcomes e-Taiba (LeT) opera- extradition cation on November tive Sajid Mir to India 26, 2008, when the atUS Secretary of under the pretext of tacks began. watching a cricket State Marco Rubio During subsequent welcomed the match and whether rounds of questionanyone accompanied extradition, calling ing, Rana is going to it a long-overdue Rana to the locations be asked when he met where he allegedly moment of justice LeT chief Hafiz Saeed provided video foot- for the victims of and what was the nathe 26/11 Mumbai ture of their relationage to Mir.. terror attacks Rana’s interrogaship. He will also be tion will take place on asked if he could three counts, including estab- identify other members of the lishing identity and his intent, LeT by name, face, or their role, attack and ISI nexus and his the sources added. links with LeT. The final round of questionNIA investigators also want- ing will revolve around involveed to find details of who all ment of ISI in carrying out the helped David Coleman Headley attacks, the sources said. M U K ESH RAN J AN & J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Loose cannon Ponmudy loses DMK post over lewd remarks E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai 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 M P T i r u chy Siva was named as Ponmudy’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.” P5 nehru ed flags systemic corruption Enforcement Directorate said the evidence found during searches at places linked to minister K N Nehru’s brother and his son suggests ‘deep-rooted and systemic corruption’ within the municipal administration department headed by K N Nehru | P4 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 Home Minister Amit Shah, who declared the sealing of the alliance at a press meet in Chennai, said 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, Shah answered in the affirmative when asked whether it will be a coalition government if the alliance wins. 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 all 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 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 Balancing act Debut of Pasmanda Muslim in the Union ministry possible RA J ESH K U MAR THA K U R @ 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 category, aligning with the PM’s emphasis on bringing the com- munity 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 performance 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. 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 . “While rural demand has been improving, the lagging urban demand continues to be a cause of concern,” says Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist, CareEdge Ratings on IIP data.