PRESIDENT MURMU LAUDS `SWAYAMPURNA GOA`
VISITING President of India Droupadi Murmu was very impressed by the social and economic growth of Goa and commended the government in its Swayampurna Goa initiative at the civic reception hosted for her at the Raj Bhavan on August 22, 2023. She underscored the remarkable growth in different spheres while safeguarding environmental interests. She was all raise for the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant’s ensure the smooth running of the State machinery to ensure economic growth. She also noted Goa has a cosmopolitan culture in which gender equality is celebrated, in this Goa’s Uniform Civil Code undoubtedly plays a good role. In Goa, she noted further, hospitality and cultural diversity play a strong role. It is the blending of various cultures which make the country’s favourite state more vibrant and harmonious. It is internationally recognized and international events happen here, she noted. The late Chief Minister of Goa and Defence Minister of India Manohar Parrikar undoubtedly played a role in building up the state and therefore today Goa enjoys cultural prosperity along with ecological richness, wherein all communities follows their traditional trades while competing with modernity. There has to be proper balance between traditional living and modernization in attaining social and economic development, she added.
Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai in his address stated that the evil of untouchability doesn’t prevail in Goa as all people promote equality and brotherhood. There are various religious customs in the State wherein people perform traditional rituals together without any caste discrimination. He presented President Murmu with a set of books authored by him.
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said that, the people of Goa are extremely honoured by the president’s maiden visit to Goa. President Murmu, he added, is an inspiration for people by the way she has overcome all difficulties of her life. The government of Goa will always safeguard Goa’s cultural values and uphold brotherhood and social harmony in society. President Murmu presented forest rights Sanads to a few members o the Goa’s tribal communities, namely Bhairu Kale, Rama Gaonkar, Anand Harvalkar, Ashok Khandeparkar, Sukdo Gaonkar and Tolu Padkar. A cultural program was presented which was enjoyed by Goa’s council of ministers, MLAs, MPs, government secretaries, senior officers of State and Central government, prominent personalities, philanthropists and those in business, social service and other professional engagements. Siddhi Upadhye compered the reception program.
GURCHARAN DAS SHARES SOME WISDOM!
NOTED author and corporate guru, Gurcharan Das (79) enlightened a largely college-going audience and a mix of middle-aged and senior citizens with his lessons from life. Das spoke on the topic: “Don’t just make a living, make a life!” at the International Centre Goa (ICG) on Tuesday, August 22. 2-23 at an event jointly organized by Bika Utsav and ICG.
Das began his talk by conducting a “thought experience” where he asked his audience to imagine they had just three weeks to live and asked them how they would live it. Das said, “It is important to ask ourselves, what the purpose of our life is, all the time.” He shared that he was very fortunate to get a scholarship to study at the prestigious, Harvard university in the USA when he was 17 years old.
According to the author USA has a very good liberal education system and he was introduced to subjects as varied as theatre, economics, western classical music and philosophy. In the end he graduated with a degree in philosophy. Championing the need for education in the liberal arts in India, Das said that subjects like philosophy, psychology, literature ensured you got a life, while engineering, medicine and law only got you jobs. “My father encouraged me to get a life, while my mother insisted on me getting a job and make a living.”
Das reminisced how the pressure of making a living forced him to join Proctor & Gamble company as a sales trainee selling medicines for cough and cold. “However, even in my early 20s, I started writing plays and stories on the weekends, thanks to my father’s encouragement. This sowed the seeds of my present day, writing career.”
Das was managing director (strategic planning) at Procter & Gamble-World HQ at the relatively young age of 50, when he decided to quit and become a full-time writer. He said, “India had recently got liberalized and I was extremely excited to support this movement.” His fascinating growth narrative has the story of his mentor who was mentor, Kamble, a Marathi speaking matriculate from a small village. Kamble joined Procter & Gamble as a security guard but his hard work, willingness to learn, high level of integrity and cheerfulness took him to the position of director in the company! “Kamble’s biggest strength was his childlike fervour and passion. I learnt a lot from this man,” Das concluded.
PRESS THE RIGHT BUTTON!
IF you have a digital gadget like washing machines or even an ATM card make sure you press the right button. The digital world is full of sharks. Do not give your debit card to third parties. Do not part with your password when you get online calls offering you this incentive or another. Above all reject offers of instant loans on the internet. The interest rates can be as high as 25% a month. You will not be able to pay the accumulated interest which will be more than the amount borrowed.
BAN ON LAPTOP
TO favour the Ambanis who are setting up facilities for manufacturing laptops in the country, the Modi government is imposing a ban on the import of laptops from October this year. The claim is that steps are being undertaken to encourage local industry. The import duty is a large part of the price you pay for computers and smartphones. The Tatas are planning to make the most advance i-phones in Bengaluru. A more important development is that a Korean company is putting up a massive silicon chips factory which will meet the requirement of the computers and smartphones industry.
GUARANTEE CARDS
Gone are the days when the dealer used to give you a printed copy of the warranty for the product you have bought. When we bought a washing machine recently the guarantee certificate and the receipt was digitally generated and sent through the smart phone. We do not know it is also been sent to our email address. Mobile phones and computers can crash. The computer system on which the data is stored by the company may also crashed. Insist on a hard copy of the guarantee cards. Make sure you print out any documents or any financial transactions conducted electronically.
THE BRIC SUMMIT
INSTEAD of attending to the woes of troubled Manipur Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending the BRIC summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. We had the privilege of attending the first BRIC Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, way back in 2006. BRIC is the short form or acronym for a group of nations originally comprising of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The objective is economic co-operation.
At the first BRICs conference an agreement was signed between India and Brazil for the import of molasses. Brazil is the first country which combines petrol with ethanol made from sugarcane and molasses to bring down the price of petrol. India is just beginning to consider the idea of petrol being replaced by a mixture of ethanol and crude oil.
MIND GAMES
INDIAN kids seem to have an enormous talent for playing the game of chess. Not only kids from Tamil Nadu who top the list of grandmasters but even Goans who have achieved enviable heights in chess. Ethan Vaz, 12-year-old, is Goa’s first grand master. Vishwanathan Anand was the first Indian to become the world champion in chess more than 30 years ago. In the next 24 hours Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa a 12-year-old from Chennai became the world’s second youngest grandmaster. India 52nd grandmaster achieved the goal when he was 12 years, 10 months and 13 days old.
Chennai seems to have a chess factory which turns out grandmasters by the dozen. Ironically, chess receives much more sponsorship than even football and even hockey!
NATIONAL GAMES
THE much-postponed National Games will finally take off in Goa on October 25 to November 9, 2023. Much of the infrastructure which has been idling for years has developed problems. The athletic track is in shamble. The Olympic size swimming pools in Panaji and Margao are not functioning properly. The archery and shooting facilities are yet to be created. The most shameful aspect of sports in Goa is that no coaches have been appointed to train young people, particularly in athletics. The sole exception is football — where Sesa Goa has a Football Academy.
COLDS AND COUGHS!
IT is not just the cost of heart surgery and kidney transplants that have soared. It is now clear that even the cost of treating a common cold or other common ailments has soared, and the cost of hospitalisation more than doubled in the last 15 years. Based on insurance claims the cost of treating infectious diseases rose to Rs64,000 in 2022 from Rs24,000 in 2018. The cost of treatment in metropolitan cities like Mumbai has gone up by five times. And the tragic fact: Many insurance policies do not cover the cost of treatment, only surgery!