Panaji: March 29, 2019 … The Collector/District Election Officer and Returning Officer for 02-South Parliamentary Constituency, Margao has finalized the rate chart for various items/commodities/services of expenditure to be incurred during General Election to   Lok Sabha and scheduled Bye Election to Shiroda Assembly Constituency of South Goa District. The item wise details of rates notified after consultation with various Political Parties is available on official website www.southgoa.nic.in for information of general public.

Panaji: March 28, 2019 …The Collector and DEO North, Panaji has finalized rate chart for various items/commodities/services of expenditure to be incurred during General Election to   Lok Sabha and scheduled Bye Election to 01-Mandrem and 05-Mapusa Assembly Constituencies of North Goa District. The item wise details of rates notified after consultation with various Political Parties is available on official website www.northgoa.gov.in for information of general public and is also published in the Official Gazette.

Panaji: March 27,2019 …. …The office of the Chief Electoral Officer conducted awareness programme ‘Know your EVM & VVPAT’ in seminar hall of National Institute of Oceanography  at Dona Paula today.

 While interacting with the participants during awareness programme the Joint Chief Electoral Officer Shri Devidas Gaonkar explained the functioning of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail along with the Electronic Voting Machine which is also an independent system attached so that the voter can verify that his vote cast desired. He said when vote is cast, a slip is printed on VVPAT printer containing the serial number, name and symbol of the desired candidate and remain exposed through a transparent window for seven seconds. Thereafter the printed slip automatically gets cut and falls in sealed drop box of the VVPAT

 Shri Gaonkar thereafter also spoke regarding other  aspects pertaining to EVM & VVPAT and its legal framework, series of checking, randomization, storage instructions, setting of EVMs (with VVPAT), mock poll instructions, counting instructions, frequently asked questions, judicial decisions with earlier references etc.

The awareness programme was atteded by the Administrative staff, Scientists, Technical staff, Students, Professors, Associate professors of NIO.

Panaji, March, 26, 2019… Oceans are of vital importance for the wealth and the well-being of present and future generations stated Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu at National Institute of Oceanography, Donapaula today.

Addressing after interacting with the Scientists of CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography, Donapaula and witnessing short presentation of Scientists from different groups on Ocean and Climate Change, Biogeochemistry, Biological oceanography, Marine Resources from Ocean, Marine Archaeology and Marine Instrumentation  Shri Naidu said that after becoming the Vice President, he has decided to visit various scientific and research institutions to interact with scientists for a better understanding of the work being undertaken by them and share his thoughts.

Speaking further Shri Naidu said, Oceans are of vital importance for the wealth and the well-being of present and future generations. They hold 97 per cent of the planet’s water, while two per cent is found in glaciers and ice caps and only one per cent comprises earth’s fresh water.

We are aware of the fact that oceans produce more than 50 per cent of the world’s oxygen and absorb 40 per cent of the carbon dioxide, buffering the impact of global warming, underlines the crucial role played by them. Thus, they help in regulating the global climate. Oceans cover 72 per cent of the surface of our blue planet and provide humankind with food, minerals, energy, fresh water and oxygen. They regulate climate, emission absorption and shoreline protection and support livelihoods as well as job creation. Indeed, oceans are our life support system, he added.

Vice-President further said currently, it is estimated that more than three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods. Enhancing more than 80 percent of global trade, marine and coastal environments constitute a key resource for economic development. Considering the importance of oceans on the life and sustenance of humanity, the United Nations has taken steps to declare the period 2021–2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Further, the Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG-14) proposed by UN, which deals with life below the waters, emphasizes the importance of oceans in modulating and sustaining life.

With this background, it is important to prioritize our efforts in ocean science and technology to achieve the national goal of transforming India to be the third largest economy in the coming 10-15 years the Vice-President added.

Shri Naidu said, that he is happy to learn that CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India is doing research on different aspects of Ocean such as the impact of climate change, marine biodiversity, coastal hazards such as coastal erosion and storm surge, marine hazards like tectonics and slumping of seabed.

Vice-President said that foundation of ocean science is mostly based on observations. To take up ocean observation studies, scientists like you need appropriate tools and platforms. I am told that research vessels are an ideal platform to do ocean observations. Research vessels and their equipment represent a significant technological asset.

He said, he is glad that two dedicated ocean-going vessels, RV Sindhu Sankalp and RV Sindhu Sadhana are managed by CSIR-NIO.  With these two dedicated vessels, he is sure that CSIR-NIO will be able to carry out all the relevant studies in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which constitutes 2/3rd of our land area.

Shri Naidu said, from the presentations made to be me by different groups, I understand that CSIR-NIO is playing a major role in understanding science of the North Indian Ocean such as dynamics of its circulation, basin-wide bio-geo-chemistry and tectonic framework of basin evolution.

He said, he was informed that the efforts of CSIR-NIO led to establishing India as a pioneer in poly-metallic nodule mining with an allocated mining site of 75,000 sq. km in the central Indian Ocean. CSIR-NIO helped to prepare India’s claim for a legal continental shelf with an area of about a million square kilometres and this institute launched India’s Antarctic research programme in the early 1980s the Vice-President added.

The Vice-President said, he is also happy to note that the CSIR-NIO provides specialized services to society in addressing ocean-related problems, in addition to its planned research projects. |He said, this institute has successfully carried out more than 1300 projects funded by oil & gas companies, ports, power plants, chemical industries, municipalities and industrial estates.

Shri Naidu said, he understand that CSIR-NIO has also carried out Marine Environmental Impact Assessments for several prestigious and nationally important developmental projects such as Sea Bird Project of Indian Navy at Karwar and others involving offshore prospecting for oil and gas by ONGC, HPCL, IOC and BPCL among others, he added.

 Speaking further Shri Naidu said, development along the coast has been increasing over the years. He said, Government of India has already planned development of ports and allied facilities through Sagarmala. Different coastal economic zones are planned. The Sagarmala project, which seeks to modernize ports through IT enabled services, is expected to give an impetus to the economy.

With India looking towards oceans for the economic growth through the Blue Economy, important institutions like NIO will have to step up their research in areas such as ocean energy and marine energy. It should be noted that India is meeting most of its oil and gas requirements through imports. Scientists should study the potential of renewable energy derived from the ocean– from wind, wave and tidal sources.

He said, the objective of the Blue Economy is to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and employment opportunities through maritime economic activities within the Indian Ocean region. India should fully tap the enormous potential of the Blue Economy to achieve higher economic growth trajectory and initiate appropriate programs for sustainable harnessing of ocean resources, research and develop relevant sectors of oceanography. However, while pursuing the “blue growth”, every effort must be made by all the stakeholders, including private and public sectors, to prevent further degradation of the ocean and its ecosystems.

In view of global warming, resource degradation, and marine pollution, Shri Naidu said, we have to conserve and sustain our oceans as time is running out. Hence, CSIR-NIO should play a major role through dense ocean observations and high-resolution ocean models over the Indian Ocean to meet the challenges in understanding different ocean processes due to climate change, he added.

The Institute should also act as a nodal centre for Blue economy related research and technology development. There is a need to focus on ocean centric technology to harness the marine resources economically for sustained growth of India. Development of technologies for deep sea mining, underwater vehicles and underwater robotics for extraction of minerals should be initiated. NIO should also undertake research on development of drugs from the sea.

The Vice-President said that he strongly felt that focused approach in some of the areas such as minerals from the ocean, energy from ocean can make India a global leader and serve our national goals.

After witnessing short presentation of Scientists from different groups Vice-President visited foyers such as Marine Aquarium, Seahorse, Marine Instrumentation, Marine Minerals and Archaeology at NIO, Donapaula.

Earlier on his arrival at NIO, the Vice-President of India was received by Prof. Sunil K. Singh, Director, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Secretary for Protocol, Shri W.V.R Murthy and others.

Panaji::: March 24, 2019 … The Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has informed that the distribution of kerosene quota  to the beneficiaries for the month of March, 2019 is extended till  April 14, 2019.  10 liters of kerosene per ration card will be distributed from the selected fair price shop/SKO retailers where their cards are attached.

 Further complaints, if any in case of non-supply/short supply of kerosene over-charging etc, may be addressed to the Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, 1^st Lift, 2^nd Floor, Junta House, Panaji Goa or may be lodged/registered through e-mail ID: di**********@*ic.in , ad**********@*ic.in or lodged on helpline No.1967 or 18002330022 or can be lodged at the respective Taluka Civil Supplies Offices.

MARGAO:23rd March:::  The Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) Academy trainee, Nathan Rodrigues was recently awarded a scholarship of Rs. 25,000 by Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society for his outstanding performance. Two years back as well he received a scholarship of Rs. 15,000.

The 15-years-old student from Holy Spirit Institute, Margao, which houses the GFDC Academy trainees, was awarded by the organizers of the prestigious tournament for his sparkling performance in the U-17 category at the 59th edition of Subroto Cup International Football Tournament 2019 held from October 25 to November 20 at New Delhi.

“I represented Holy Spirit Institute, Margao and it feels great being awarded such a prestigious award by the organizers.  This scholarship has motivated me to work even harder. I scored two goals in the U-17 Sub-Junior Boys Subroto Cup,” said Nathan Rodrigues.

He started playing football at a very young age and his mother, Anunciasao Rodrigues was always a source of inspiration and did everything to help her son develop his skills further.

“I started playing football when I was six years old. I used to watch and admire my mother play football. She began teaching me the game at home when I was young. She has represented Goa and is currently a GFDC coach at Arambol centre,” Nathan informed.

The midfielder has a major hand behind Holy Spirit Institute’s triumph at various tournaments. He joined GFDC in 2014 and has made a mark for himself with his formidable and consistent performance at the GFDC centre at Arambol and now at the academy. “It is a good place and they are doing a lot to teach football to the budding footballers from the State. Derryl D’souza, my coach at the academy is a very good mentor and is teaching me all I need to know about the game,” he told.

The lad hails from Arambol and is a die-hard fan of Brazilian and Barcelona superstar Neymar.

“I want to become a professional footballer and my dream is to play in the Indian Super League someday,” he said.

Nathan and his academy teammates will hopefully represent the country one day.

Panaji: March 22, 2019 … A science exhibition was held at Sanjay Centre for Special Education recently. This was the first Science Exhition organized by Sanjay School, where students of Sharddha (Slow learners) and Shruti (Hearing Impaired) displayed various science models showcasing different branches of science stream.

 The exhibition was inaugurated at the hands of Shri Pradeep Masurkar, Headmaster of Government High School, Gurim Namoshi in the presence of Chairman of Sanjay Centre for Special Education Goa, Shri Guruprasad Pawaskar, Member Secretary of  Sanjay Centre for Special Education Goa, Mrs. Sheru Shirodkar, Principal of Sanjay School, Porvorim, Shri Tatu Kudalkar, Teacher and students.

The exhibition was organized as a part of Science week celebration. Students From Std. V To Std. X displayed their innovative talents and made beautiful working models right from simple street lights, digestive system model, ear model, eye model, to way complex projects like Acid rain model, Smart City and Atom Model. The Students were very enthusiastic and explained their projects to the chief guest and other dignitaries.

The key objective of organizing the exhibition was to bring out the hidden talents of students with a focus on building scientific temper among them and create more awareness of science, technology and engineering. The students were guided by their science teachers.

The chief guest Shri Masurkar in this speech congratulated the students for their outstanding achievement. He applauded the management, teachers for providing a platform for students to discover their potential and inspired them to continue their effort.  The event turned out more exciting and enjoyable for students as chief guest Shri Pradeep Masurkar demonstrated some of the science experiments like low pressure, sound vibrations and many more that occur in our day to day life.

Panaji : March 21, 2019 … A Committee has been constituted to deal with applications by political parties and organizations for certification of their political advertisements proposed to be issued on electronic media, which includes TV Channels, Cable Network, Radio including private FM Channels, Cinema halls, audio visual displays at public places and internet during the conduct of General Election to Lok Sabha, 2019 and Bye Election, Goa.

The Committee consists of Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Chairperson,  Returning Officer of 1-North Goa Parliamentary Constituency Collectorate North, Panaji, Member, Station Director, Doordarshan Kendra Altinho, Member, Goa and Shri Praveen Volvotkar, Deputy Director, DOIT, Member.

Panaji: March 20, 2019 ….Captain of Ports Department has directed to all canoe operators of steel and Aluminium used for sand extraction/transportation to replace their canoes by fibre and wooden without inboard engine as they are not allowed to operate as per the General conditions issued by Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority.

Canoe operators are informed to take this notice seriously and adhere all the conditions of the licence while operating their canoes, failing which necessary action will be taken against the canoes operators by confiscating there and not to be release in any case.

Panaji::: March 19, 2019 …The Governor Smt. Mridula Sinha has summoned the Legislative Assembly of the State of Goa, to meet at Assembly Hall on March 20, 2019 at 11.30 a.m.