JOBS FOR GOENKAR
THE Karnataka government has been forced to hold back a bill for 60% preference for locals for management jobs and 100% for blue collar jobs. This is in the wake of strong opposition from the National Association of Computer Manufacturer (NASCOM). The IT capital of the country is predominantly populated by people from outside the state.
I understand that even the Udipi restaurant in Bengaluru has been taken over by people from Assam in the northeast. This is the historical problem as Kannadiga have always been second class citizens in Bengaluru. Not because they are not talented Kannadiga but they have to face competition from software engineers from all over the country.
This is also true of Goa. There are no jobs in the private sector for Goa. Not even in the hotel industry or in shops and establishments. So Goans are forced to go to the Gulf or Middle Eastern countries or to the UK for jobs. The government must train Goans for suitable jobs in the private sector.
All industrial units including the tourism industry must offer training to Goans. May be the Goa government should introduce a ladla scheme, along the lines of Maharashtra which is offering on the job training for a stipend of six to ten lakh to young unemployed youth.
FOR WANT OF A RESIDENT’S CERTIFICATE!
(By Rajan Narayan)
I HAVE lived in Goa for over 40 years. Though “OHeraldo” refuses to give me an resident certificate I have one from the “Goan Observer” which certifies that I have worked in Goa for the last 20 years plus another 20 years, making it 40 plus, plus years. I have Adhaar card, ration card, passport, voter ID card. I even have a PAN card and DDSSY card and a LPG gas book.
But all this is not enough for the Revenue department of Goa to give me a resident certificate which I need desperately to access a pension for journalists which has already been sanctioned. In the old days if I just made a call to the collector the certificate would be sent home to me because I knew the collector personally.
Unfortunately, today in my 70th decade of life, I’ve lost track of the present collector or even know who the local mamlatdar is. I do know senior government officers like Prasanna Acharya, Prasad Lolayekar, Melvin Vaz and the former north Goa district collector Agnelo Fernandes.
I am now bound to a wheelchair due to recovery from TB of the spine and cannot go to the North Goa collector’s office to get a resident’s certificate. I have no one to run interference for me. I don’t even know any agents who will fix up things for me. I hope one of my old bureaucratic friends would help me to get a domicile certificate.
Unfortunately, unlike previous chief ministers ranging from Pratapsingh Rane and Digambar Kamat, I do not know the present Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant very well. I do not know if the Panaji MLA and minister for revenue, Atanasio Babush Monserrate will be help me.
YOGI ON HIS WAY OUT
YOGI Aditiyanath is being made the scapegoat for the poor performance of the BJP in the Lok Sabha election. However, Modi did not have any say in the selection of candidates. The publicity material did not even carry a photo of Yogi Aditiyanath. The campaign only focused on Narendra Modi and his guarantees. It was reported that Modi wanted to sack Yogi Aditiyanth who may challenge him for the prime minister’s post. Now the deputy CM of UP Morya has revolted against Yogi Aditiyanth. The party president also wants the Yogi to go.
RAIN DESTROYS GOA
AS it continues to rain non-stop for the 19th day today as we write this in the usually rainy month of July, the rain also continues to cause havoc. There have been several deaths due to wall collapses in various parts of Goa. The latest victim is the 18-year-old Kartik Chawan who died when a mud wall of his rental home collapsed on him at 6.30am on a Wednesday, July 17, 2024 while he and his father Digvijay were asleep. The father was injured but the young man could not be saved.
Elsewhere a false ceiling at the MES college in Zuarinagar collapsed, injuring three students. There have been other incidents indoors and outdoors. Goans may not travel out of because trains, buses and even flights have come to a stop due to landslides and flooding. The prices of vegetables and fruits have shot up as supplies are disrupted.
Smart city Panaji as expected in shambles despite the crores which have exchanged hands in the name of road works. Clearly, Goa is not as monsoon-proof as its government pretends it is.
BJP USES RAJYA SABHA
AFTER the recent Rajya Sabha election the BJP has been reduced to a minority. The INDI Alliance including the TMC won 10 of 13 seats in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP numbers have gone down further with the retirement of six MPs. The total number of BJP seats in the Rajya Sabha has come down to 86. What this means is that the BJP will not be able to pass any constitutional amendment bills which require a 2/3rd majority in both houses of parliament. The BJP has also failed badly in the election of members of the legislative council in various states particularly Maharashtra. And the Ajit Pawar faction has lost out to the Sharad Pawar faction as everyone expected. What next we may only guess and wish and hope for!
POOJA SHARMA SCOT FREE!
POOJA Sharma, the wife of a senior Mumbai cop, has yet to be arrested by the state government for illegally demolishing the home of a tenant on the property of Chris Pinto in Assagao. District court judge Arshad Aga has refused bail to Pooja insisting that she was the main beneficiary of the demolition of the house. Jaspal Singh, the DGP of Goa, who helped Pooja Sharma in the demolition has been shunted out of Goa. Interestingly, nobody has raised the issue of the delay in arresting Pooja Sharma in the ongoing Legislative Assembly session.
VMSCL GETS EDUTRUST ENVIRONMENT AWARD 2024-2025
THE
VM Salgaocar College of Law (VMSCL) has been honoured with the District
Environment Award for Educational Institutes 2024-2025. This an award initiated
by the National EduTrust of India. Department of Forests-Panaji Goa repsentatives
Narayan Pawar and Gouresh Gaonkar
presented the award to college principal Dr Shaber Ali and administrator DP Pednekar in the presence of other faculty
members on July 13, 2024.
The award highlights VMSCL’s exemplary efforts in launching various environmental initiatives on campus. The college has been developing horticulture on the campus garden grounds since 2021 with students and staff collectively working on it. The initiative sees the planting of flower and fruit bearing trees and plants across the campus to enhance environment as a continuous effort.
The Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Goa, Ramanata Crisna Pai Raikar Education Society’s School Of Agriculture, Environment NGO Dhavrukh Goa and Environment Conservation and Research Organisation Goa has recognised VMSCL’s green initiatives as exemplary and for other institutes to implement.
“VMSCL’s remarkable achievement in
promoting environmental conservation and sustainability is truly
commendable,” CEO of National EduTrust Samarth Sharma commented while
declaring the award. The award recognises the institution’s commitment to
fostering sustainable practices on campus.
For more details visit: https://vmslaw.edu.in/green-initiative
MOU BETWEEN COP AND GANPAT UNIVERSITY
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Department of Captain of Ports and Ganpat University at the Secretariat in Porvorim in the presence of Minister of Ports Alexio Sequeira on July 15, 2024. This collaboration aims to enhance maritime education and training at Maritime School at Britona of Captain of Ports Department. Present were Octavio Rodrigues (Captain of Ports); Premlal Shirsaikar (Deputy Captain of Ports); Dr Mahendra Sharma (Pro-Chancellor of Ganpat University); Dr RK Patel (Pro Vice-Chancellor); Dr Saurabh Dave (Pro Vice-Chancellor); Dr Satyen Parikh (Pro Vice-Chancellor); Dr Girish Patel (Executive Registrar); Capt Giriraj Tejra; Capt Prakash Rajaram Patil; and Jitendra Singh Rawat.
It may be recalled that in March 2021 the government approved the proposal to redevelop the Maritime School into the “Goa Institute of Maritime Excellence (GIME)” on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The PPP department prepared the draft request for proposal (RFP) and concession agreement for the redevelopment on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The tender was floated on September 28, 2022 and a single bid received on the e-procure portal from M/s Ganpat University, Gujarat.
The collaboration introduces a range of courses at the Goa Institute of Maritime Excellence. Long-term courses include the New Entrant Training Course and the Advanced Refresher Training Course. Short-term courses will cover Power Boat Operator for Inland Canoes, Personal Craft Operator, High-Speed Craft Operator, Jet Ski Operator, and Crowd Management and Passenger Safety.
The academic curriculum will include long-term Maritime MBA courses in Shipping and Logistics Management, Port and Shipping Management, and Shipping and Finance. Yacht training courses such as Master (Coastal) of Yachts, Master (Open Sea) Yachts, and Master (Ocean Going) Yachts will also be offered. Short-term courses will cover Safety, Rescue, Fire Fighting and First Aid, Dinghy Sailing/Kayak/Sea Bob/Water Toy training, professional lifeguard courses for swimming pools, beach guard courses, and adventure courses such as scuba diving and fly board. Other specialized training will include yacht deck crew, cruise/super yacht hospitality, fishing trawler skipper navigation, and electric powered boat operator courses.
Mehsana-located Ganpat University in Gujarat is a renowned educational institution established in 2005. It offers a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs across various fields such as engineering, maritime studies, management, pharmacy, computer applications and humanities. The university and the township of Ganpat Vidyanagar, a high-tech education campus, are joint initiatives driven by industrialists, technocrats, noble farmers, and affluent businessmen with the mission of “Social Upliftment through Education.” This partnership is expected to significantly contribute to maritime excellence and education in Goa.
GU PROFESSORS AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS RESEARCH GRANTS
DR SIDDHI Kashinath Jalmi, Assistant Professor of Botany, at School of Biological Sciences & Biotechnology, Goa University and Dr Sangeeta Mahableshwar Naik, Assistant Professor of Marine Microbiology, at School of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, have received prestigious research grants under CSIR- ASPIRE. This is a government of India initiative to empower women, 300 women scientists have been selected across India under all five subjects.
Dr Siddhi Jalmi’s grant is for life sciences while Dr Sangeeta Naik’s grant is for inter/trans disciplinary sciences. Dr Jalmi is currently working on salt tolerant indigenous rice varieties of Goa to understand their salt tolerance and other inherent qualities at molecular level. Her work will be crucial for assisting in developing stress tolerant crops and improving agricultural productivity. As the cultivation of these important Goan origin rice varieties has declined her aim is to propagate and promote the varieties nationwide.
Dr Sangeeta aims to work on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in marine environments, which have substantial ecological, economic and health implications. HABs can kill fish, injure marine mammals, contaminate seafood with toxins and can have an influence on tourism. She will also investigate how changing climate could worsen the frequency of HABs.
SUNBURN FESTIVAL
THE Sunburn Festival is planning to shift southwards in Goa this year. This is seen as a way to boost tourism in south Goa. Protocols for this controversial have to be mooted yet before the festival gets any permission to go ahead with its plans. The Sunburn Festival is an international event which has helped to put Goa on the international music festival where world renowned artistes perform.
Goa has definitely benefited from its global appeal which has helped enhanced tourism to grow the various business sectors of hotels, guesthouses, bars and restaurants, transportation, etc. The world over the perception is that such events help drive the tourism economy and in the case of Goa too it is no different.
The GCCI-blessed festival
also needs to make sure that all protocols, permissions, safety aspects,
traffic management and waste management guidelines are planned properly. Sound usage
should be within prescribed norms and the concerned authorities should make sure that
there is no substance abuse, meaning drugs abuse. The festival may take place
with proper advance planning with organisers, locals, police and various concerned
governments.
It is important to take on local stakeholders in
south Goa so that a win-win situation prevails all around. Director General of
GCCI Sanjay Amonkar has circulated its approval of Sunburn providing it follows
all the guidelines.
GOA TOURISM PAVILION BEST DECORATED AT TTF KOLKATA 2024
On July 14, 2024 the Goa Tourism Pavilion delegates from the Tourism department, namely Deepak Narvekar (deputy general manager-marketing GTDC) and Sudatt Kambli (information assistant) witnessed a successful conclusion for participation at the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) Kolkata 2024 held from July 12 to 14 at the Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan. The event provided a dynamic platform for the state to present Goa’s unique and diverse tourism offerings to travellers from West Bengal and surrounding states.
The Goa Tourism pavilion received the “Best Decoration Award” in the Large Pavilion category this year’s TTF Kolkata and reflecting on this success Minister of Tourism Rohan A Khaunte observed, “TTF Kolkata 2024 provided a remarkable opportunity not just to showcase Goa’s tourism potential but also to engage with trade members from West Bengal and rest of the country. The exchange of insights and ideas on sustainable tourism has been invaluable. These interactions have inspired us to innovate and collaborate more closely with industry experts to further enhance Goa’s appeal as a premier travel destination.” Suneel Anchipaka, IAS, Director Tourism & Managing Director, GTDC was also all praise for the award and the pavilion set up. Hoteliers and tour operators from Goa participated at the TTF Kolkata Pavilion and got the opportunity to showcase and promote their hotels and other tourism related services.
GCCI’S SEMINAR ON SUCCESSION
THE Taxation & Financial Services Committee of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) organized a highly informative seminar on succession and estate planning on July 12, 2024. The seminar took place at the Surendrababu Timblo Convention Hall from 4 pm to 7 pm and was attended by 125 participants, including managing committee members of GCCI, members of the Taxation & Financial Services Committee, senior CAs, advocates, law students, professors from law colleges, and other professionals.
At the inaugural function Pratima Dhond (vice-president of GCCI) who was chief guest giving the welcome address. She provided a backgrounder on GCCI and highlighted the numerous advantages of joining the organization. She commended the Taxation & Financial Services Committee for organizing such valuable events and encouraged non-members present to consider joining GCCI and become proud members.
Rohan Bhandare in his opening remarks introduced various guest speakers who were Neha Pathak (Head of Trust & Estate Planning at Motilal Oswal Wealth Ltd) and Ashish Bhakta (founding partner of ANB Legal). The speakers covered a range of crucial topics, including:
- Overview of Portuguese Civil Code and Recent Amendments in Succession Law in Goa
- Succession & Estate Planning
- Key Considerations for Drafting Wills
- Setting up Private Trust Structures
- Dispute Resolutions
- Tax Perspectives in Succession Planning
After the presentations the speakers interacted with the audience in a Q&A session which provided further insight into the complexities of succession and estate planning. The seminar underscored the importance of succession and estate planning, particularly in ensuring the smooth transfer of assets and wealth to future generations. It highlighted the need for individuals to be proactive in planning their estates, drafting clear and comprehensive wills, and considering the establishment of private trust structures to safeguard their assets. The discussions also emphasized the tax implications of succession planning and the importance of understanding the legal landscape, including recent amendments to the Portuguese Civil Code and succession laws in Goa.
The vote of thanks was delivered by CA Atindra Bhatikar and director Kiran Ballikar coordinated the smooth execution of the event. Events like this seminar are a testament to GCCI’s dedication to supporting good projects in Goa and fostering a well-informed and prepared business community.