February 2021

GOA Centre diverts 120ha of biodiversity hotspot at Mollem for rail project   The Centre has sounded a devastating blow to the Mollem ecosystem as it approved the diversion of 140 hectares of forest for South Western Railways’ double-tracking project. What has raised the hackles of environmentalists and nature lovers is that around 120 hectares — almost … Read more

GOA ‘Goa must give thrust to cashew cultivation’   The total amount of cashew nut imported by India is higher than that exported, but efforts can be made under Atmanirbhar Bharat to propel cashew cultivation and export, said director, directorate of cashew nut and cocoa development, Venkatesh Hubballi. He said that the country spent nearly Rs 8,800 crore to import raw nuts … Read more

GOA Goa govt primary schools see enrolments drop by 50%   Over the past eight years, student numbers in government primary schools have gone down uniformly across the different regional languages offered as medium of instruction (MOI) in these institutions. Students enrolled in Marathi, Konkani and Urdu schools in government schools have nearly halved since 2012.   However, according … Read more

GOA Govt rejigs disability advisory board   The state government has reconstituted the State Advisory Board on Disability, appointing 44 members onto the board to deliberate and decide on issues pertaining to individuals who have disabilities. The board has been constituted for a period of three years and it will be required to meet once … Read more

GOA Goa: Jackfruit, coconut to get boost under central scheme   The Centre has formally notified jackfruit and coconut as products for the North Goa and South Goa districts respectively under the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. The Union ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare has now asked the Goa government to promote the products through a cluster based approach and by … Read more

  GOA Now, Aadhaar mandatory for social welfare schemes in Goa   The state government has made it mandatory for beneficiaries of 21 social welfare schemes to enrol for Aadhaar in order to continue to avail of benefits. Adoption of Aadhaar will make the service delivery and transfer of benefits transparent while also increasing efficiency, the department of social welfare announced in a … Read more

GOA ‘No mention of shacks in draft coastal mgmt plan’   Traditional shack owners, who set up temporary shacks on beaches throughout Goa during the tourist months, have found that the draft coastal zone management plan (CZMP) has “no reference or mention of the existence of shacks”. The Shack Owners Welfare Society (SOWS), representing the interests of … Read more

GOA ‘IT policy benefits to roll out by March-end’: GTA   Goa Technology Association (GTA) met with the officials of the department of information technology and urged them to smoothen the registration process for the IT Policy. Director for information technology Ankita Anand assured the IT industry representatives that the IT Policy will be implemented and scheme benefits will be rolled out … Read more

GOA The need & importance of coastal management plan   With a view to protect coastal stretches, to promote development through a sustainable manner and to ensure livelihood security to the fishing and other local communities, the Union ministry of environment, forest (MoEF) came out with a notification in January 2011, declaring coastal stretches as … Read more

  GOA NIO to intensify research in cage aquaculture   The Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has drawn up a multi-disciplinary research plan to make cage aquaculture an economically, ecologically and socially responsible venture. This follows the call by Union minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying Giriraj Singh to make Goa the country’s fisheries hub during his … Read more