THE minister for Art & Culture Sports and Rural Development has been dropped by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant from his cabinet. Nobody mourned the exit of Govind Gaude. But the Art & Culture Minister has been dropped for the wrong reason. Gaude has been dropped because he accused Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of corruption in schemes relating to the Tribal Welfare Department.

In fact, Govind Gaude should have been sacked a long time ago for all the corruption in the renovation of the Kala Academy which continues to be in a shabby condition especially in the parking grounds. It may be recalled that the renovated Kala Academy brought forth a  number of complaints. This ranges from leaking roofs to leaking floors to poor air-conditioning and poor lighting and acoustics.

Gaude has a controversial record. It is claimed that he threatened Ram Krishna Sudhir Dhavalikar at a cabinet meeting. Gaude has been sacked for threatening the Director of Tribal Welfare and alleging misappropriation of fund by the chief minister who is in charge of department.

When the CM threatened to drop him,  Gaude mobilised the tribal community. Gaude threatened that the tribals would agitate if he were sacked. Gaude continued to be defiant. The two-time  Priol MLA has claimed that he has been punished for speaking the truth. Signicantly, he was sacked on Goa Revolution Day, hours before Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the BJP President Damu Naik attended the birthday celebration of Calangute MLA Michael Lobo. At the birthday celebration, both Damu Naik and Pramod Sawant are reported to have remarked that there were good days ahead for Michael Lobo. This has sparked speculation that Michael Lobo may replace Govind Gaude in the Pramod Sawant government.

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS DISRUPTED!

THE ongoing war in the Middle East between Israel and Iran has disrupted international flights from India and the western countries. Airlines flying between London or New York to India have to fly through Iranian airspace. Indian airlines have an additional problem because they also are barred from using Pakistan airspace. This is resulted in airlines having to take diversions and fly longer routes. This puts pressure on the pilots as the conventional 10-hour flight from India to London now is extended to 13 to 15 hours. Air India pilots have been complaining that they are forced to fly an average of 12 to 14 hours without a break.

 HINDI NOT COMPULSORY

THE BJP-ruled Maharashtra government has declared that Hindi will not be compulsory for students of Class 1 to 5 studying in English and Marathi medium schools in the state. However, students can opt for Hindi as the third language on a voluntary basis. Even in schools where  Hindi is now compulsory they can opt out if 20 students express the desire to study any other Indian language other than Hindi.

MODI NO LONGER BEST FRIEND

 PRIME Minister Narendra Modi declined an invitation from USA President Donald Trump to meet him in Washington.  This follows Modi insisting at the G7 Summit that Trump has no role to play at the ceasefire between Indian and Pakistan. Trump continues to insist that the ceasefire was achieved due to his intervention. India is also upset over the fact that Trump hosted Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch at the White House. Trump is seeking the help of Pakistan in its fight against Iran.

‘THUGLIFE’ FILM RELEASED

THE latest film of actor Kamal Hassan is now being screened in theatres in Karnataka. This follows the remarks of the actor that Kannada is not an independent language and is derived from Tamil. Moreover, the actor Kamal Hassan refused to apologize for his remarks. The High Court in Karnataka directed the State government to stop mobs from stopping the release of the film. A bench of the Karnataka High Court said that the rule of law has to prevail and guns cannot be put at people’s heads to stop them from watching movies. Threats on burning down cinema halls are unacceptable.

GOA REVOLUTION DAY.

JUNE 18 marks Goa Revolution Day. It was on this day in 1946 that Ram Manohar Lohia launched the last phase of the Liberation struggle in Goa. Lohia had come to Goa for a holiday on the invitation of his friend Dr Julio Menezes in Assolna down south Goa. While in Goa Lohia discovered that Goans had no right to speak or hold public meetings. So he decided to defy the ban and was promptly arrested and deported by the Portuguese regime. But the flame of azaadi he lit continued to grow till Goa was liberated on December 17, 1961. Lohia’s Goan friend Julio Menezes has not been honoured for his role in the liberation of Goa.

DIGAMBAR KAMAT IS GODMAN

DIGAMBAR Kamat, former chief minister who returned to the BJP, has become extremely religious. To the extent that Madgaokars have been making fun of him and calling him “Deviach.” This makes Digambar very angry and he recently asked his critics not to insult god by calling him a “godman.” His new title does not prevent him from protecting his Muslim vote bank in Moti Dongor. Chirag Naik, the managing director of Commonwealth Developers and Monginis, has decided to challenge Digambar Kamat in the Margao constituency.

MICHAEL LOBO BIRTHDAY

WITH elections coming up for the state assembly next year, MLAs are having grand celebrations on their birthday. It may be recalled that Goa Forward president, Vijai Sardesai, had a very grand birthday celebration at Fatorda on June 14. At the birthday celebration Vijai Sardesai promised to liberate Goa from the BJP.

Now the latest birthday boy to organise a big bash is the Calangute MLA, Michael Lobo. Lobo has issued a public invitation to the aam janata to come to his birthday party at his ancestral home in Parra. To demonstrate that he has the support of all communities, Michael has sponsored an ad for a prominent Hindu, Catholic and Muslim who call themselves social workers.

 IT COMPANIES CHOOSE GOVERNMENT SCHOOL

AN IT couple from Maharashtra working in the United States have decided to enrol their 12-year-old son in a government school in Maharashtra. This is because they want their son to learn their mother tongue Marathi. The government school in Amaravati has a record of encouraging talent. The school has repeatedly turned out the best students year after year. It is our experience that NRIs are more conscious of their mother tongue and their Indian roots than Indians living in India. 

UPWARD MOBILITY OF LABOR KIDS

PRINCY, the daughter of a farm labourer from Uttar Pradesh, has achieved her dream of getting admission in a  medical college. Pooja Ranjan, the farmer’s daughter, never imagined she could afford admission to a medical college. Her parents could not think beyond a government school education for her.

Fortunately, all the children have benefited from the expert government coaching imparted at the Sarvodhya Vidhalaya in Mirjapur district. As many as 12 girls of the Sarvodhya Training Centre have qualified for admission on passing the NEET exam.    

AN OFFERING FROM UK CORRESPONDENT ON AI 171 BOEING CRASH…

By Eva Griffith

AS reported by the Goan Observer last Friday, the importance of the Air India 171 tragedy at Ahmedabad, Gujarat cannot be underestimated. The disaster which took place on  Thursday involved the ubiquitous 787 Boeing model, the Dreamliner, which is estimated to carry half-a-million people per day; there are one thousand of these planes flying all over the world.
From a UK perspective, Gujaratis make up a large percentage of the Indian community in Britain. ITV Television’s news coverage reported that Air India’s reputation for safety and general standards are not good, citing air conditioning problems, and The Sunday Times has described a situation where the Modi government has “struggled to find a buyer for Air India” which has become “notorious for delays, broken seats and clogged toilets. “One flight,” it states, “was stranded in Siberia for two days.” With 52 Britons dead of the 242 flying, Britain has decided to send an investigation team out to the site.
Vishwash Ramesh, the UK man who survived, walked away, in fact, from the destroyed fuselage of the crash, leaving his dead brother behind. It took 30 seconds between the crew realising something was wrong and the impact which saw so many lives lost.
A minute’s silence took place at the Jaipur Literature Festival in Central London this weekend, where Dame Carol Black, Namita Gokhale and Sanjay K Roy gave the inaugural address.  One late speaker had himself arrived at Gatwick on an Air India plane shortly before the accident was reported. Investigations are ongoing.

PONDA HOSTS FOREST RIGHTS CAMP

A ONE-DAY special camp to fast-track claims under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 was held on June 14, at the Office of the Deputy Collector & Sub-Divisional Officer, Ponda.

Convened under the direct supervision of  Shubham Naik, Deputy Collector, Ponda, and chairperson of the Sub-Divisional Level Committee (SDLC), the camp brought together officials from the Tribal Welfare, Forest and Revenue departments, along with the village panchayats of Bethoda, Borim, Conxem, Ganjem, Shiroda, Usgao and Nirancal.

The occasion was graced by Srinet Kothawale, Additional Collector-I, South Goa, whose presence underscored the district administration’s commitment to speedy redressal of forest-rights claims.   Rajesh Sakhalkar, Joint Mamlatdar-I, Ponda, and Ashwin Dessai, Block Development Officer (BDO), Ponda, personally oversaw verification desks, guiding applicants on documentation and ensuring seamless inter-departmental coordination.

“Today’s camp is in furtherance of the initiative of Project Adhikar driven by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to bring every department to the people so no eligible claimant is left out,” Naik said while inaugurating the event. “The district administration is fully committed to clearing the backlog well before the 19th December, 2025 deadline,” added  Kothawale.

The applications at a glance and particulars and figures are as follows, the total claims in Ponda jurisdiction 259, claims already scrutinised and forwarded to the District-Level Committee (DLC) 129, claims taken up for document rectification 130 and claims fully decided by SDLC during the camp 60. Throughout the day officials verified land sketches, genealogy records and affidavits.  Forest officers clarified demarcation procedures, while Revenue staff explained survey references.

Village panchayat representatives hailed the initiative for “bringing the office to the doorstep” of tribal hamlets.  Several beneficiaries expressed relief that long-pending files had finally progressed. Claimants have been instructed to submit the pending documents within a period of 15 days, for addressing the remaining cases, enabling the SDLC to forward all the cases of Ponda jurisdiction to the DLC well ahead of the State government’s Project Adhikar deadline of December 2025.

GOA SHIPYARD LAUNCHES 5^TH PATROL VESSEL  ‘ACHAL’

GOA  Shipyard Limited (GSL), a premier Defence Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, marked a significant milestone with the ceremonial launch of “Achal”, the fifth in a series of eight indigenously designed and constructed Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for the Indian Coast Guard.

This event, held at GSL’s state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility, was graced by                    ADG AK Harbola, PTM, TM, Coast Guard Commander (Western Seaboard), and           Kavita Harbola, who performed the ceremonial launch amidst the solemn intonations of the Atharva Veda. The gathering was attended by senior officials from the defence and maritime fraternity, industry partners, and workforce representatives.

In his addressBrajesh Kumar Upadhyay, Chairman & Managing Director, GSL, stated: “This launch is a reaffirmation of GSL’s dedication to delivering technologically advanced, mission-ready platforms, tailored to the operational requirements of the Indian Coast Guard. Through innovation, indigenous design, and the pursuit of excellence, GSL continues to forge a path of transformative growth in alignment with the national vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat.’”

CMD Upadhyay lauded the perseverance of Team GSL in navigating project timelines amidst formidable challenges, including pandemic disruptions and supply chain pressures. He further emphasized GSL’s evolving role as a strategic partner in India’s maritime security architecture.

Chief Guest ADG AK Harbola commended GSL for consistently upholding the highest standards in indigenous shipbuilding and called upon all stakeholders to persist in their pursuit of self-reliance in defence manufacturing. He praised the seamless synergy between the shipyard and the Indian Coast Guard, which has been pivotal to the project’s timely progress.

The FPVs, fully designed in-house by GSL, are 52 meters in length, with an 8-meter beam and 320-tonne displacement. These agile, state-of-the-art platforms are purpose-built for coastal surveillance, island protection, and securing offshore assets; critical capabilities in India’s maritime operational spectrum.

Beyond strategic defence outcomes, this project has also contributed substantially to local economic growth; stimulating employment, nurturing MSMEs, and reinforcing India’s shipbuilding ecosystem.

SPINTLY RECEIVES APPRECIATION CERTIFICATE

SPINTLY, a start-up based in Goa, founded by two engineers focussing on simplifying access control, has evolved into a global solution for smart buildings and secure spaces. Its wireless, cloud-based system now positions it as one of India’s fastest-scaling IoT ventures.

Last week, Spintly was recognized at the Sankalp Se Siddhi celebration — marking 11 years of the Modi government and one year of Modi 3.0 — with a Certificate of Appreciation under the Start-up India Mission for its contribution to innovation and entrepreneurship. The certificate was awarded by Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, in the presence of  Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Rohan A Khaunte, whose leadership has strengthened Goa’s vision of becoming an innovation hub. It marks a moment of pride not just for the founders but for the growing start-up ecosystem in Goa.

Co-founders Malcolm Dsouza (CTO) and Rohin Parkar (CEO) haven’t  just build a product — they have built belief. They were one of the first recipients of the Seed Capital Scheme under Start-up Policy, a state-backed initiative administered by the Start-up and IT Promotion Cell under the Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications. That initial investment helped them build, test, and grow, long before venture capital arrived.

“This recognition reflects the passion and perseverance of our team. Building world-class tech from Goa has always been our vision, and the state gave us both the foundation and the launchpad to grow,” said Malcolm Dsouza, Co-founder and CTO of Spintly.

Today, Spintly operates from Goa and the US, has raised ₹50 crore from investors across India and abroad, and is valued at ₹300 crore. But the real story is bigger: Goa is becoming more than just a place to unwind, it’s becoming a place to build.

With rising infrastructure, access to funding, and a start-up community that’s gaining momentum, Goa is emerging as a preferred start-up destination in India. And as Spintly shows, the next big innovation can come from right here.

SHAMIKA RAVI AT ICG TALK

SHAMIKA Ravi, member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, and secretary to Government of India, delivered a public lecture on “Women, work and Viksit Bharat @2047” on Friday, June 20 at 6 pm at the International Centre Goa (ICG). This event is part of the ICG’s Public Lectures series and is open and free to the public.

Ravi’s talk engaged with the idea that the growing participation of women in the workforce is essential for India to fully realise its demographic dividend. The female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) was 23 per cent in 2017, falling from 33 per cent in 1972. It was estimated to be 37 per cent in 2022-23. The FLFPR in China is nearly 70 per cent and is upwards of 75 per cent in Global North countries.

Ravi was earlier Director of Research at Brookings India, Vice President Economic Policy at Observer Research Foundation and Non-Resident Senior Fellow of Governance Studies Program at Brookings Institution.

Her research focuses on economics of development including areas of Finance, Healthcare, Urbanization, Gender Equality, and Welfare and Poverty. Over the last 20 years, Ravi has taught in post-graduate programmes across India including The Indian School of Business and the BITS School of Management.

Ravi is widely published in international peer-reviewed academic journals and writes regularly in newspapers for the wider audience. Her research work has been featured and frequently cited by leading global media outlets, as well as national and regional newspapers and magazines across India in different languages. Ravi has a PhD in Economics from New York University, Masters in Economics from Delhi School of Economics and BA(H) in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College for Women.