Page 4 - Pramod Sawant

No Covid-19 curbs in Goa till Jan 2, says CM as govt advises precautions

The Goa government will not impose any COVID-19-related restrictions till January 2 but will review the situation on January 3, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday after chairing a high-level meeting here. He said that people should voluntarily follow COVID-19-appropriate behaviour. "The state will not impose any COVID-19 related restrictions till January 2, but will review the situation on January 3," Sawant told reporters after chairing the meeting. He said as per the Centre's direction, a mock drill will be conducted on December 27 to check the preparedness to tackle any potential coronavirus outbreak. Sawant said authorities have already started random checking of international passengers arriving in the coastal state. "Two per cent of international passengers arriving in the state are being tested," he added. As Goa gears up to ring in the Christmas and New Year festivities amid a rise in COVID-19 cases in some countries, the state government has appealed to the peop

Goa govt's Drone Policy 2022 promotes use of unmanned aerial vehicles

The Drone Policy 2022 launched by the Goa government has suggested that its departments consider the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles for efficient and effective governance. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday launched the Drone Policy 2022, as per which the government will engage with technical institutes and academia to design drone-related courses for use in sectors like agriculture, horticulture, forestry, healthcare, mining and others. The government will help in establishing drone schools that offer various courses in drone operations and pilot certification, the policy said, adding the government will encourage the setting up of centres of excellence within higher academic institutions to promote research and development. The policy mentions that "drones offer tremendous benefits to almost every sector of the economy, including but not limited to agriculture, infrastructure, emergency response, transportation, geospatial mapping, media, entertainment, law enforcement an

Goa CM Sawant warns of strict action against those who harass tourists

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said stern action will be taken against harassment of tourists in the coastal state and said people involved in such acts will not be spared. Sawant was addressing a function here to mark the Goa Liberation Day, where he inspected a parade and received the guard of honour. The Goa Liberation Day is celebrated on December 19 every year to mark the success of 'Operation Vijay' undertaken by the armed forces to liberate the state by defeating the Portuguese in 1961. Highlighting the importance of tourism in the coastal state, Sawant said cooperation from stakeholders such as taxi and tour operators is required for the development of the sector. The state government is working towards creating a positive image of Goa with respect to tourism internationally, he said. We are exploring different facets of tourism such as beach, hinterland, eco-tourism, wellness and spiritual tourism, the chief minister said. People who harass tourists in the st

Goa CM slams Rahul Gandhi, says his love for China has gone beyond limits

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has slammed Rahul Gandhi over his 'China preparing for war and Indian government sleeping' remark, saying the Congress leader's "love for China" has gone "far beyond limits". Sawant also criticised Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto for his "outrageous" remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Rahul Gandhi's love for China and hate for India's Political Party and our Prime Minister has gone far beyond limits. The Indian Armed Forces are guarding the borders of India with Valour and Courage. The people of India love, respect and support the Armed forces by heart," Sawant said in a tweet on Saturday evening. Addressing a press conference in Rajasthan on Friday, Gandhi had alleged that China was preparing for war and the Indian government was sleeping over it and trying to ignore the threat. He also alleged that China has taken away 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory, killed 20 Indian soldiers and was "thrashing our jawans in ...

Cyber crime threat to India's progress, security: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said cyber crime is a threat to India's progress and security and cyber warriors need to be created to combat the menace. Sawant was speaking at the International Conference on Information Security, Privacy and Digital Forensics (ICISPD 2022) at BITS Pilani campus in Vasco city, 35 km from here. The chief minister said the importance of comprehensively addressing social media privacy issues cannot be underestimated and the challenge calls for skilled experts. Cybercrime is a threat to the progress and security of our nation. The need of the hour is to create cyber warriors to combat cyber crime, he said. Sawant stressed on the need for awareness, knowledge and skills about the emerging trends in cybercrimes and training in latest technologies of cyber security and computer forensics. As per data from the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 52,974 cases of cyber crime were registered, showing an increase of 5.9 per cent in registrati

Goa will soon emerge as creative capital of India, says CM Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the coastal state would soon emerge as the creative capital of India. He was talking to reporters after distributing various benefits to start-ups and Information Technology companies at a function here. State IT Minister Rohan Khaunte was also present. The state government's policy has eleven schemes through which start-ups are incentivized, the CM said. These schemes include salary reimbursement, lease rent reimbursement, co-working spaces reimbursement, skill development promotion scheme and IPR reimbursement scheme and trademark reimbursement scheme, he said. Sawant said that since the inception of Start Up scheme, total grant of Rs 3.28 crore has been sanctioned against these incentives to more than 50 beneficiaries. Besides this, the IT Policy has 18 schemes including capital investment scheme, power subsidy, internet subsidy, salary subsidy, purchase of land and built-up space and quality certification, he added. Goa is .

International Film Festival of India kicks off today, Goa CM inspects venue

The 53rd edition of the International Film Festival India will begin in Goa on Sunday

Goa Forward Party president demands CM's resignation over high unemployment

Goa Forward Party President Vijai Sardesai has demanded the resignation of chief minister Pramod Sawant while presenting a report made by the NITI Aayog to him.

One-year work experience to be made mandatory for govt jobs in Goa: CM

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said one-year work experience would be made "compulsory" for recruitment in state government departments. He said fresh candidates would not be taken directly into government service. Aspirants would have to get experience by working in the private sector before applying for government jobs. Addressing a function at Taleigao village in North Goa, Sawant said one-year work experience would be made mandatory for those looking for government jobs in the future. Such a practice would help the government get skilled manpower, said the chief minister. The CM said necessary amendments would be made in Recruitment Rules (RRs) to ensure only suitable candidates are selected for vacant posts. Sawant also said recruitment through the Staff Selection Commission would be made compulsory in the future.

Goa CM unveils free pilgrimage scheme Mukhyamantri Devdarshan Yatra Yojana

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Goa on Monday formally launched a state-sponsored pilgrimage scheme for people announced before the Assembly polls held in February this year. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said such schemes help them garner votes. Sawant flagged off a bus carrying passengers to the famous Tirupati shrine in Andhra Pradesh under the Mukhyamantri Devdarshan Yatra Yojana", which he had announced before the Assembly polls. We were criticised for introducing this scheme to garner votes. I would say that we garnered votes because of such kind of schemes and not vice versa, the chief minister told a gathering. He said seats are booked for the free pilgrimage on the first-cum-first-served basis. Sawant said the two other destinations promised under the scheme are Velankanni in Tamil Nadu- a popular pilgrim center, especially renowned for the Church of Mother Mary- and Shirdi, the famous shrine of Sai Baba located in neighbouring ...

Goan youth are trafficked abroad on pretext of highly paid jobs: CM Sawant

Sawant said that few youths contacted his office complaining that one agent had taken amount to the tune of Rs 5 lakh from each person to create passport and Visa.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launches Purple Fest logo in Porvorim

'Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Central Government is committed to ensuring that persons with disabilities have an inclusive, accessible, and equitable future in society'

Land grabbing cases in Goa were treated casually by police: Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said the state government would not have had to form a special investigation team to probe land grabbing cases if the police had not treated these incidents casually. The chief minister said some land grabbing cases were registered 15 years ago with respective police stations, but they were treated casually by officers. These complaints were treated like routine ones, which is why we had to form a special investigation team (land) to probe them. Land grabbing had started in the state 15 years ago, Sawant said. The chief minister was addressing the state secretaries and heads of various departments on the occasion of Vigilance Awareness Week at Porvorim, near here. Sawant further said that a delay in processing files is also anti-government attitude. Sometimes officers claim that they are not corrupt, but they delay processing of files and by doing that, they are incurring losses to the state. This type of behaviour is equally corrupt, he

Goa CM Sawant urges citizens to promote local businesses this Diwali

Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Saturday urged citizens to encourage the "vocal for local" initiative and consider local products while shopping for Diwali festival. The chief minister said that he himself has put up a lantern made of coconut tree leaves, which was gifted to him by students of a school in Loliem village in South Goa, at his official residence in Panaji. Sawant was addressing government officials and panchayat members from across Goa, virtually, as a part of a review of the state government's Swayampurna Goa initiative. Referring to the vocal for local initiative, Sawant appealed citizens to buy items prepared by locals for Diwali, and said the festival should be an occasion to promote local businesses. It may be akashkandil (lantern), eatables or even flowers always choose to buy items that are made locally. This way, you will help to promote vocal for local initiative, he said. Children from schools catering to differently-abled persons put up stalls at ..

Complain to CMO if anyone demands money using my name, says Goa CM Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday appealed to people to contact his office if any person demands money using his name.

Centre assures to resolve UK visa issue soon, says Goa CM Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that the Union Home Ministry has given an assurance to resolve the issue of the United Kingdom visas as soon as possible

Invest in Goa and be partners in industrial growth: CM Pramod Sawant

Stating that Goa prefers to encourage eco-friendly industries, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday called upon the investors to invest in the state and be partners in industrial growth.

Foundation stone for IIT-Goa campus to be laid in next six months: CM

Goa's Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the foundation stone for setting up of IIT-Goa project will be laid within the next six months

Auctioning of mining leases in Goa to get over by Nov 2022: CM Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said the auctioning of eligible iron ore mining leases in the state will get over by November 2022, but it would take one year after that to begin the extraction of fresh ore. Talking to PTI in Sankhalim, his Assembly constituency in North Goa, Sawant said this one-year period is required to complete all the formalities. The mining activities in Goa had come to a standstill in March 2018 after the apex court quashed the second renewal of iron ore mining leases given to 88 companies in Goa in 2015, and prohibited the extraction of fresh ore. The state has now put up four iron ore mining leases for auction. This is for the first time in Goa's mining history that leases are being awarded through auctioning. "The first batch of four leases have been auctioned by the State Directorate of Mines and Geology, SBI CAP and Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited, while the process is on to auction the rest of the leases by November 2022," he ...

App-based taxi services will be available in Goa soon: CM Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said his government was firm on introducing app-based cab services in the coastal state. "I want to give you an assurance that in a few days app-based taxis will be available," Sawant told reporters in Chandigarh. Two months ago, Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho had said the state government was firm on introducing app-based cab services and would not bow down to pressure from the private taxi lobby which was against it. Private taxi operators have been opposing app-based cab services, claiming it will destabilise their business. On private taxi operators opposing app-based cab services, Sawant said, "In a few days the taxi issue will be resolved and you will get app-based taxi in Goa." Responding to a question on Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat's mysterious death in Goa last month, Sawant said, "On demand of her family, we have handed over the investigation to the CBI." "Any assistance which CBI may require from the Goa Police