GOA

Chief minister Pramod Sawant offered to make the Purple Fest an annual event if other states do not show interest in hosting it. The festival is Indias first inclusive event celebrating persons with disabilities (PwDs).

Sawant said the reservation quota in Goa is the highest in the nation, which has been increased from 3% to 4%. Goa government has the highest paying pension of Rs 3,500 for 80% of the retired disabled while the rest get Rs 2,000.

He added that efforts are under way to make more buildings accessible and UDID certificates for the PwDs are being fast tracked. He also went on to list the several initiatives taken up by the central government for the benefit of the disability community.

Panaji is the most accessible city in the country with disability accessibility-friendly , said minister for social welfare Subhash Phaldesai. In preparation for the Purple Fest, ramps were installed in some buildings in the city and at Miramar beach.

The has raised concerns over the implementation of the draft uniform framework for extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which has been notified by the Centre.

The state held that it should be applicable from the year 2016 and not from 2021, even as it estimated a Rs 21-crore loss to the exchequer if implementation began from 2021.
The framework, it said, should be linked to the goods and Services tax regime and should be implemented through any state government department or a special purpose vehicle (SPV) constituted by it, and not by a private agency.

It also urged the development of a national Software enabling all states to access data.
In March 2016, the Union ministry of Environment, forest and Climate-change”>Climate Change (MoEFCC) had notified the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which mandated that generators of waste take steps to minimise generation of plastic waste, to not litter, to ensure segregated storage of waste at source, and to handover segregated waste to local bodies or agencies authorised by them.

The on Thursdayintroduced26 governmentbills, includingonefor the decriminalisation of sections of various acts, and one for the formation of the Goa stateresearchfoundation.

The aim of the foundation is to promote a culture of research and innovation in Goa. In 2020, the Union Education ministry notified the National Education Policy, 2020, which focuses on research, innovation and Industry linkage, along with other aspects. The foundation will further these objectives.

The aim of the research foundation will be to promote a culture of research and innovation in Goa. In 2020, the Union education ministry notified the National Education Policy, 2020, which focuses on research, innovation and industry linkage.

In a bid to give impetus to Goas efforts in granting the mancuradmangogeographical indication (GI) status, the Goa State Council of Science and Technology has taken initiative to form a mango farmers association.

A meeting was held at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Coastal Agricultural ResearchInstitute(ICAR-CCARI), Old Goa, on Tuesday by the institutes fruit scientists along with Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture officials and prominent mango farmers to form the association. The GI application needs to be jointly filed by farmers and the institute.

Efforts will also be made to tap important commercial varieties like the Hilario, mussahrat and Xavier among others, and hopefully apply for GI status for them as well.

The electricity department will replace all existingmeterswithsmartmeters under the government of Indias smart meter national programme.

A trial run of 250 smart meters, which provide real time data to the department for better planning, is complete. The meters were placed across Goa in different terrain and the department found that they were 95% efficient.

The department is now drawing up a plan for phasewise installation of 6.5 lakh meters and hasplansof replacing around 50,000 meters by the end of the financial year.
Around 30% of the cost of each meter will be borne by the Centre and the rest by the department.

Through the smart meter programme, the government of India aims to bring in efficiency in thepowerdistribution system leading to better service delivery

The system will provide area-wise and time of the day, data on consumption and shortfall in capacity, which will help the department in its upgradation projects.

Goas gold medallists at the recently-heldSpecial Olympics World GamesinBerlinwill be rewarded with a cash purse of Rs 5 lakh and a government job when they turn 18, chief ministerPramod Sawantannounced.

Goan athletes returned from the World Games with their best-ever medal haul in eight editions, picking up a record nine gold, five silver and five bronze medals.

The has an existing scheme that rewards Special Olympians with Rs 1 lakh for an international gold medal but that has now been significantly hiked, while other cash Awards have also improved significantly.

The state cabinet on Wednesday granted approval to the Goa Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill,2022, which is aimed at increasing the states borrowings by 1% of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) for the financial year 2022-2023. The 1% increase will allow the state to borrow up to 4% of the GSDP.

The bill will be introduced in the monsoon session of the state assembly.
The state GSDP is approximately Rs 90,000 crore.

With this amendment, the can borrow a maximum of Rs 3,600 crore.
In the financial year 2021-2022, the state government borrowed around Rs 2,700 crore through the open market. The borrowing limit was around Rs 3,200 crore.

As per the Union finance ministry, the state can carry forward the unutilised borrowing to the subsequent financial year.

The countrys tiniest state with an area of 3,702 sqkm has diverted nearly 150 hectare of forest land, rich in and Home to many endemic animals and Plants, for power projects last yearthe third highest just behind Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which are 23- and 66-times Goas size, respectively.

When it comes to diversion of forest land for any linear projectroad, rail, power or waterGoa is among the top 10 in the country, according to a report by the Delhi-based Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment.

The only proposed diversion in Goa rejected by any of the committees was to carry out mining near the Bondla wildlife sanctuary.