GOA

CM Pramod Sawant moots collab with international universities in Goa

by

In a bid to put Goa on the global Education map, the intends to open its arms to higher education in the state by collaborating with world class universities, said CMPramod Sawant. He was speaking at the closing ceremony of theQS India Summit 2023in Goa.

The state is in talks with various stakeholders to set up a national design institute, national Sports academy, marine technical academy, and few language institutions. “We are also focusing on having research and development in Waste Management, which will not only help the state with zero wastage, but also be a changemaker for the rest of the country,” Sawant said.

He further said that Goa wants to “bring internationalisation in its education”. He pointed out that the directorate of international cooperation and exchange looks after the internationalisation strategy at Goa University.

Panel moots study on local bodies revenue

by

An introductory meeting between the state , finance department, the directorate panchayats and urban development department was held recently. The government has reconstituted the thirdState Finance Commissionunder the chairmanship of former finance secretary Daulat Hawaldar, former director of accounts, Gurudas Potekar and director of planning, statistics and evaluation, Y Durga Prasad, who has been appointed as member secretary of the reconstituted body.

The commission will study the scope for Own Source Revenue generation for local bodies, and the distribution of funds amongst the local bodies. Thecommission will also have consultations with local bodies before submitting their report to government.

Goa seeks central aid for coastal policing

by

Chief ministerPramod Sawanthas requested the ministry of Home affairs (MHA) to provide central assistance for acquiring modern equipment and high-speed boats to patrol the coast.

In December last year, Goa Police introduced a pink police force to prevent crime against Women. Sawant also informed the gathering that of the 700 Nigerian nationals that were found to be illegally staying in the state, 650 were deported and efforts were being made to send balance to their home country.

The Goa state council for science and technology has filed an application for the registration of Geographical Indication (GI) for the Goa Mankur (Mankurad) mango variant and is presently working on obtaining similar status for theMangelarandMussaratmango varieties.

by

AGI tagprotects the produce from being illegally used and ensures benefits to the community of local growers.

The department said the association will be open for membership and after completion of one year, a regular committee will be elected at a special annual general meeting to take the GI process further.

Goa tourism goes to Times Square to woo US visitors

by

To strengthen its image on the international arena, the tourism department ran an outdoor campaign at Times Square in New York, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the USA.

While Goa has not made concerted efforts to woo US tourists, in the past decade, a few attempts were made to explore the distant market, but these did not meet with much success.

While footfalls from the US have been on the lower side, 2018 and 2019 saw a jump. The two years each had over 25,000 US travellers visiting Goa, though the num-bers dropped to 16,000 in 2020, the year Covid-19 derailed the world.

Goas R-day tableau to feature heritage symbols, culture, Iffi

by

The cultural treasures of Goa depictingsymbolsof Goanheritage, Fort Aguada, the martyrs memorial at Azad Maidan,Iffi, the Shigmo festival and Kunbi folk dance will be featured on thetableauto be paraded at theRepublicDay celebration at New Delhi. The tableau has been designed by Ponda-based artist Sushant Khedekar.
This year, the Union ministry of DEFENCE has selected tableaux of 12 states and eight tableaux of various departments for the parade. The other states which will present their tableaux are Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Accompanying the Goan tableau will be 18 traditional performing artistes from various parts of the state.

Goa IPB clears 4 projects worth Rs 230 crore with potential to create 1,489 jobs

by

TheGoa Promotion and Facilitation Board(IPB) met on Thursday and cleared four investment proposals, which could bring in Rs 230 crore of investment to the state and also createjobsfor 1,489 people.

Chief ministerPramod Sawant, who chaired the meeting, said that the projects would benefit Goa immensely.

The investment proposals are for Light engineering firms, manufacturing, agro-Food Processing and an automotive service facility.

In the entire year, IPB has conducted just four board meetings and has approved projects with an investment of Rs 832.1 cr and which could create EMPLOYMENT for 3613 individuals. IPB said that 78% of these jobs will go to locals.

IPB is also in the process of drafting new rules and regulations under the new Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation of Single Window Clearance Act, 2021. The board, which is headed by Sawant, has already approved a new methodology for land allotment, which uses a points-based system to evaluate project proposals. The investment score is then evaluated against the advertised land bank in the state.

The board has already identified unused land across various industrial estates in Goa and has invited project proposals from potential investors.

Centre will decide on name for new Mopa airport: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

by

CMPramod Sawant said that the decision to name the new greenfield international airport atMopawill be taken by the Union Government. The has not proposed any name for the new facility, he said. The comment comes amid demands to name the new airport after political personalities from Goa. The CM said naming airpots is the prerogative of the Union civil aviation ministry.

Amidst demands to name the new greenfield international airport at Mopa after political personalities from Goa, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said that the decision to name the new airport will be taken by the Union government.

Sawant said that 100 landing and take-off slots have been sought by domestic airline operators from December. International flights will commence from January, beginning with Oman Air, and more are likely to follow in the coming months.

Goa gets cleaner, rises to 3rd position

by

Goa notched up an impressive performance in the nationwideSwachh Survekshan 2021 cleanliness survey, climbing up the ranks to the third position among 14 states that have less than 100 .

Jharkhand continued to top the list, followed by Haryana. Goa was in the seventh position in the 2020 edition of Swachh Survekshan.

The state capital, Panaji, improved its rank marginally, climbing to 208 of the 304 cities with a Population between 25,000 and 50,000. Panaji was placed at 213 in the 2020 edition of the nationwide exercise. Mapusa also made it to 238 among the 304 cities.

The ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) organised the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav as part of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, in order to recognise the good work done by states and cities.

Smart city winding up next year, finish projects: Centre to Goa

by

The Centre has written to the Goa government and directed it to complete the smart city mission projects by mid 2023 as the smart city mission is being wound up. The Centre has also formally communicated to ImaginePanajiSmart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) to ensure efficient utilisation of funds for the approved projects before the mission deadline.

At the national level, implementation of the mission is monitored by an apex committee headed by secretary for Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). The deadline for completing projects under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) was extended for all 100 selected cities to June 2023 based on a recommendation.