CHIEF of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan again admitted that India has lost some aircraft during Operation Sindoor. A very candid Gen Chauhan noted that this was the first time India had engaged in a non-contact warfare. “We did not see each other. We only see it either through a radar or a different range, except for what was happening on the line of control.”
There was a war not only in the skies but also in the information in the cyber domains. The general disclose that India had net worth all its air defence system and had used artificial intelligence for predictive analysis. He also revealed that Pakistan has simultaneously attacked on a wide variety of places. But India successfully defended itself against the drone attacks.
The General claimed that India had crushed Pakistan in just eight hours. Making an analogy with cricket, the general said that when there is an innings victory, nobody counts the number of balls or wickets. Similarly, what matters is not how many aircraft went down but the final outcome.
LAW STUDENT ARRESTED
THE Kolkata law student and social influencer Sharmistha Panoli who was arrested in Gurgaon has been denied bail by the Kolkata High Court. The young lady had reportedly posted a controversial video linked to Operation Sindoor. The HC insisted that you cannot hurt the sentiments of the masses under the “right to free speech.” However, in similar cases, the SC has overruled the HC and granted bail.
KAMAL HASSAN REBUKED
TAMIL Superstar Kamal Hassan was Bwas rebuked by the Karnataka high court. Hassan had made the controversial remarks claiming that Kannada was born out of Tamil. The film industry and people of Karnataka declared a ban on Kamal Hassan films in Karnataka. The capital of Karnataka, Bengaluru, has a very large Tamil population which enjoys seeing his films. The Karnataka HC told Kamal Hassan that he was not a historian and directed him to apologize. The court observed that no language can be born of any other language.
ARE WE BACK TO DOLO?
IN view of the growing number of new COVID-19 cases, the medicine Dolo tablet is back in fashion. Reportedly, the total number of covid cases has cross 4,000 with Kerala reporting the largest number of cases. There are 37 deaths from COVID so far.
At the height of the first or last Covid epidemic, doctors used to prescribe Dolo, which is the very strong drug targeted respiratory disorders. Subsequently, however, the efficacy of Dolo has been questioned. According to doctors, Dolo is only a stronger version of aspirin.
UKRAINIAN WAR HITS UP
IN a counterattack against Russia Ukraine claims that it has destroyed over 37 Russian planes in a drone attack. Ukraine also claimed that it had blown up Crimea bridge which is on a strategic road used to transport weapons for the Russian war against Ukraine. Ukraine is been punished for breaking away from the Soviet Union. Ukraine is the home of several rare minerals which are very important for the semiconductor industry and the manufacture of smartphone batteries.
PAK `TIKTOK’ TEEN STAR KILLED
SEVENTEEN-year-old TikTok star Sana Yousuf was shot dead in her Islamabad home in what police suspect is an honor killing. Sana, a social media influencer, had eight lakh followers on TikTok and five lakh on Instagram. Sana was a social media influencer who campaigned for women’s rights. Sana kept posting that Islam respects women and grants equal rights to females. She was against triple talaq and the Shariat laws which denied education and economic independence to women. She was the fan of Malala who fled to the UK. According to Sana’s mother a 22-year-old man, a TikTok acquaintance of Sana, entered the house on Monday, June 2 and fired two shots at Sana, killing her on the spot.
BELGAVI RALLY SUPPORTS GOA
A MASSIVE rally held in Belgavi on Tuesday, June 3 opposed the Kalasa-Bhandura projects in the village of Kankumbi close to Belgavi. The Bhandura projects seek to divert the Mhadei river water to north Karnataka for water-guzzling sugar cane fields. The protesters insisted that the diversion of water would cause great damage to the ecologically sensitive Mhadei basin. It will pose a threat to the Bhimghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka and the waterfalls of Dudhsagar which are in Goa. The protestors claimed that the dam was being built without environmental clearance.
SPEECH-IMPAIRED DENIED SUPPORT
THE Disability Rights Association has slammed the disaster management authority for not providing Whatsapp excess to speech-impaired persons. There are about 3,000 people with speech problems who are helpless in an emergency, there is little they can do in emergency situations. Now Prakash Kamat has demanded that they should be given access by Whatsapp to the helplines.
GOVERNOR VISITS PARCEM, KASARPAL, VALPOI AND BETIM UNDER “KHUSHAL KALYAN YATRA”
GOVERNOR of Goa PS Sreedharan Pillai in his fourth round of “Khushal Kalyan Yatra” visited Parcem in Pernem, Kasarpal in Bicholim, Valpoi and Betim in Bardez taluka in north Goa on June 2, 2025. First Lady of Goa Rita Sreedharan Pillai accompanied the governor.
The governor began his yatra by visiting Shree Bhagwati Temple in Parcem Pernem. Praveen Arlekar, MLA welcomed him. On behalf of Shree Bhagwati Temple, Anand Rao Dessai, treasurer and Manguish Desai, Shamsundar Naik Desai, Surendra Desai offered bouquet of flowers to the governor.
On arrival, the governor and first lady were offered prayers at Shree Bhagwati temple temple. They were felicitated by Praveen Arlekar, MLA and Ajay Kalangutkar, sarpanch of Parcem village with an offering of shawl, shreephal and a memento.
Later, the governor visited Hutatma Chowk and paid homage by placing wreath at Hutatma Chowk in Parcem Pernem. On his arrival at Shree Devi Mahamaya Kalika temple, Kasarpal in Bicholim taluka, they were welcomed by Dr Chandrakant Shetye, MLA. They offered prayers at Shree Devi Mahamaya Kalika Temple and moved on to the Shree Hanuman Temple in Valpoi to offer. Here was welcomed by Deelip Karpe, president of Shree Hanuman Devasthan Samiti, Prasanna Gawas, chairperson of Valpoi Municipal Council, Tulshidas Kanekar and others.
At Zamiya Masjid in Valpoi Khudbuddin Shah, president, Akhtar Shah and others gave a warm welcome to the governor and his lady. A maulana offered prayers on behalf of the couple in the masjid. Later, they moved on to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Valpoi to offer prayers. Parish Priest Fr Winston Barbosa welcomed the governor. Others present were Assistant Priest Fr Robert, Fr Agnelo Fernandes, Fr Lawrenco.
The governor’s visit also included the Sikh gurudwara at Betim, in Bardez taluka. During this Khushal Kalyan Yatra he offered prayers at all the places of worships visited, invoking divine blessings for peace, happiness and welfare of the people of Goa and nation. He presented a cheque of Rs50,000 each to all the holy places he visited. The governor’s party included Sanjeev Gauns Desai, secretary to the Governor, R Mihir Vardhan, special officer to governor, Sanjeev Sardesai, historian and A Kalyana Harsha, comptroller of governor’s household and others.
DIP BIDS FAREWELL TO SENIOR STAFF
THE staff of the Department of Information & Publicity bid adieu to Sangeeta Bandodkar on her superannuation from the department, on May 30, 2025. Sangeeta Bandodkar rose from position of lower division clerk to upper division clerk in 2014. Her dedicated work, especially in matters related to employee pension, was praised by her fellow colleagues. Director Dipak Bandekar thanked her for her 34 long years of services to the department and wished her all the best in life.
THE BUSINESS DIVA 2025
THE 6th edition of the Business Diva Competition was organised by the Women’s Wing of GCCI with the vision to celebrate, support and spotlight women entrepreneurs of Goa. The program spanned over three months and was held in collaboration and support from FiiRE (Forum for Innovation, Incubation, Research & Entrepreneurship) under the able guidance of Tushar Sawant, Enterprise Development Manager.
The competition was in three categories – Start-up, Scale-up and Rural Woman Enterprise. With a whopping 100 + nominations received from women across Goa, the 1st round saw 30 nominations being selected. The 2nd round of pitching further narrowed to five finalists in each category.
This platform was created by the GCCI’s Women’s Wing with the aim of bringing forward untold stories of innovation and impact, while also creating a supportive community of like minded women. The competition was open to aspiring and established women entrepreneurs of Goa.
The finale was held on May 27 at the GCCI Hall in Panjim. The day-long program with the finalists presenting their businesses saw a panel of three judges: Dr R Nirmala (professor at Goa Business School, Goa University), Yogesh Mittal (CFO at Hughes Precision Ltd, Verna) and Ekta Agarwal (CEO of SS Technologies, Margao). A grand award function took place in the evening with Padmashri Shashi Soni as the chief guest, Shrinivas Dempo (president, GCCI) and GCCI Vice President Pratima Dhond as the guests of honour.
The winners are:
Category – Startup
Winner – Yasha Jain, Charmify
Runner Up – Isha Kher, Meraki Enterprises
Category – Scaleup
Winner – Shruti Mascarenhas, Ceracotta
Runner Up – Sunetra Pai Fondekar, Kalanetra
Category – Rural Woman Enterprise
Winner – Dr Chetna Parab, Soulart Gift Store
Runner Up – Poonam Naik, Super Taste Papad
The program was hosted by women’s Wing committee members Rahila Khan and Gauri Borkar. The program was chaired by Asha Arondekar (chairperson Women’s Wing, while she gave the formal welcome Sandra Fernandes gave the vote of thanks. The event was coordinated by Melane Rodrigues (GCCI Women’s Wing), and Renu Amballoor (investment manager, FiiRE). It is hoped that Business Diva 2025 will inspire more women to venture into entrepreneurship and winners will create a ripple effect, enable more women to chase their dreams and goals without fear and limitations.
11-POINT DEMAND FROM GRE
THE GOENCHEA Raponkarancho Ekvott along with other associations have asked Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar at the Secretariat in Porvorim to take a look at the 11-point demand charter they have prepared for review. Olencio Simoes, GS of GRE, told media people that they had a detailed deliberation on the eleven-point demands and the minister has assured them that they would be reviewed.
GRE requests the strong implementation of the High Court of Bombay at Goa order dated May 8, 2025 – Ban on LED Light Fishing, Bull Trawling and Pair Trawling and implement the seven directions laid down by the High Court of Bombay, Goa. GRE has requested the minister to direct the Coast Guard, Coastal Police & Fisheries department to enforce strict implementation of the ban, As even after the ban the LED light violations continue.
GRE has also demanded the banning of the use of Gensets/diesel generators on mechanized fishing boats. It has come to widespread notice that diesel generators and gensets are being misused to operate LED lights during fishing operations, despite the ongoing ban on such methods. This not only violates the Court’s directive but also poses a serious threat to marine biodiversity, traditional fishing livelihoods, and the sustainable use of coastal resources.
Olencio states that it’s 45 years since the Goa, Daman & Diu Marine Fishing Regulation Act of 1980 came into operation, but no amendments have been made, “therefore, we want to bring more stringent amendments to the Marine Fishing Regulation Act. Strengthening these regulations would provide the necessary framework to combat illegal fishing activities effectively. It is crucial to implement stricter penalties for those caught violating these laws and to enhance monitoring and enforcement capabilities to ensure compliance.” The amendments recommended will force outside boats fishing in the territorial waters of Goa.
Also, regulate fish catch limits for “purse seiners” and deep-sea trawlers, increase the petrol subsidy which was reduced to Rs30,000. Increase the monsoon season ban to 90 days and hand over SGPDA wholesale fish market for fishermen.