GOA

Chief ministerPramod Sawanton Sunday laid the foundation stone for a Rs 16-crore project to pump outwaterin the pits of closed mines, stagnated over the years, and utilize it for agricultural purposes.
Ceremonies were held at Surla and Velguem in Bicholim for the project. It would benefit around 1,000 farmers in the mining belt.
Sawant said the government aims to bring in the state by launching this first of its kind project across the country.

Chief minister informed that the water stagnated in about 10mining pitswould be more than the availability in Anjunem dam reservoir. If this water is channeled using modern techniques, around 350-hectare area will come under the green zone, he said.
Sawant announced that the project will be funded through the district mineral fund.

To enhance the synergy between research and academia, theNational Centre for Polar and Ocean Research(NCPOR) has tied up withParvatibai Chowgule Collegeof Arts and Science to expand polar and ocean studies.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between NCPOR and Parvatibai Chowgule College will provide a platform for scientists to exchange experiences, ideas and research methodol with students, professors and future researchers.

NCPOR is a research organisation under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, which is tasked with planning and executing polar expeditions and scientific research in Antarctica, Arctic, Himalayas and Southern Ocean. It also undertakes research on some of the countrys strategically vital projects like mapping of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), continental shelf margins and the Deep Ocean Mission.

In possibly a first in the country, Class IX and X students from 400 highschoolsin the state are set to learn aboutbiodiversityandclimate changeas part of their school curriculum from next academic year.

The Goa StateBiodiversityBoard (GSBB), through the state Environment ministry, and the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education entered into an MoU on Wednesday to promote awareness about and the importance of preserving the environment to human well-being.

The MoU will see awareness about biodiversity being raised among students from 400 high schools and later on, extended to students of 105 higher secondary schools affiliated to the Goa Board. This will mean at least 1 lakh students will be impacted.

Chief ministerPramod Sawanttold the assembly that the state has already receivedGSTcompensation of Rs 1,291 crore for 2021 from the Centre. As per the first quarter data, revenue collection for the year was ahead of the budgeted targets.

With the Growth in taxes coupled with intelligent monitoring through systemic interventions and measures being taken for expenditure management and revenue augmentation by the state, there is no question of any fear and anxiety.

The five-year period quoted in the report, Sawant said, included two years of the pandemic, which was an abnormal period in itself and should not be counted.
The compensation was based on an assumed annual growth of 14% of revenue on a year to year basis. However, the actual growth of taxes was around 7.5%-8% in the post-GST regime due to the new system and Covid years.

Representatives from theMineralExploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) are likely to arrive in Goa next week to conduct site visits to find out if there is vegetation or habitation in the 77miningleases. The has provided documents pertaining to these 77 leases to MECL.

The site inspections will be conducted prior to deciding to quantify the Ore lying in these leases. Once the quantity is determined, the leases will be auctioned.
The state government had earlier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MECL to identify new iron ore mines in the state.

Goa has large deposits of iron ore (1,456 million tonnes) as well as significant occurrences of other Minerals“>Major Minerals like bauxite (55 million tonnes) and manganese ore (34 million tonnes).

Initiatives to set up a system to collect waste during Ganesh Chaturthi festival help in channelising its proper disposal. Towards this end, Neura village was provided bins at Ganesh idol immersion points.

Under a drive, Swaccha Goa, Swaccha Neura by Kala Academy Goas College of Theatre Arts, the special bins were distributed in coordination with Neura panchayat for collecting Ganesha puja waste (nirmalya) and for other waste separately.

The Centre also said that seven big ticket projects worth Rs 330 crore are about to be awarded to contractors while two projects worth Rs 40 crore are likely to be tendered in the coming weeks. The information was given by the minister of state Kaushal Kishore in a written reply inRajya Sabha.

The Rs 63 crore underground power cabling project in Ribandar began at a good pace, but has been stagnant since former chief executive officer Swayandipta Pal Chaudhuri was dropped from the post.

One of the prominent reasons for the delay in executing projects was the lethargy by the in transferring funds toIPSCDL, which is the special purpose vehicle that is executing the Smart City Mission in Goa.

As per the MoHUA website, Goa has transferred Rs 113 crore to IPSCDL till date as its share towards the Smart City Mission.

In a bid to makeGoa self-sufficient in Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture, the state has submitted 13 detailed project reports (DRPs) worth over Rs 700 crore to the Union Government to build , take up innovative activities, diversification of crops, rejuvenation of khazan land, protection of prime agricultural land, and agri-entrepreneur development.

Currently, Goa imports most of its fruits, vegetables, Cereals, and pulses from other states. In fact, more than 80% of fruits and vegetables are imported from the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.

This project is planned to be taken on mission mode under the umbrella of the centrally-sponsored scheme ‘RKVY-RAFTAAR’ (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana), so that the complete agricultural sector is transformed in Goa in a period of five years.

The state has submitted a DPR for stingless beekeeping – rearing of stingless bees available in the Western Ghats, by farmer households.
Rejuvenation of khazan lands by repairing bundhs proposed the honey from stingless bees has high medicinal properties and is even used to manage diabetes and some cancers, the DPR said. A processing unit for honey will also be added in this project.

Among these DPRs is a proposal for rejuvenation of khazan lands in North and South Goa by strengthening of bundhs.

The has decided to announce the implementation of the Goa Chief Ministers Apprenticeship Training Scheme 2021.

The data of requirement of apprentices for every department needs to be called for and registration will be done on a first-come-first-serve basis. The data, which will be collected from various government and non-government establishments, will help accommodate skilled manpower in various categories in both sectors.

The scheme will cover all categories of apprentices as defined in the Apprentices Act, 1961. Apprentices having 15 years residence in the state shall be paid a stipend of Rs 1,500 per month over and above the stipend payable under any of the government of India apprentice scheme.

The benefits under the scheme shall be available only for a period of one year to the apprentices.

Even as the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in institutes of higher Education has touched 33.8%, the has set out to take it to 50% by 2035.

From 2016 to 2021, the male student’s Average GER was around 28.8, while for girls, it was 34.2.

Education secretary Prasad Lolayekar told TOI that the state’s target is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), which mandates that enrolment in higher education should touch 50% by 2035.

Unesco defines GER as the “total enrolment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a Percentage of the eligible official school-age Population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year”.