The state government on Friday decided to take up three important projects under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode the redevelopment of the Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd (SSSKL) at Dharbandora for ethanol production, development of a commercial property for the Mormugao planning and development authority (PDA) and redevelopment of the maritime school at Britona.

Health minister Vishwajit Rane said on Friday that Goa Medical College (GMC) is gearing up to start a state-of-the-art department of chest and robotic surgery. I assure the people of Goa that they will no longer have to travel to Mumbai for complex chest and chest oncology-related surgeries, he said.

Goa may not see any polluting industries as the draft Goa Industrial Growth and Investment Promotion Policy, 2022, has laid thrust on promoting non-polluting sectors like eco-tourism, adventure tourism, entertainment, food processing, education and research and development, among others.

A local court in Mapusa on Friday granted pastor Domnic DSouza, who was arrested on Thursday for allegedly outraging religious feelings, conditional bail. His wife Joan has not been arrested, police said.

The Town and Country Planning (TCP) department has identified 2.2 lakh sqm of tenanted agricultural land in the villages of Parra, Nagoa, Arpora, Candolim and Calangute, which have been converted into settlement and commercial zones.

Goa students average score continued to be considerably below the national average in mathematics across the classes of III, V, VIII and X.

The directorate of health services (DHS) has issued a directive to district hospitals and sub-district health centres to notify authorities if any case of monkeypox is registered. Health authorities have also been directed to reserve beds for isolating patients who test positive for the disease.

The haphazard quarrying of laterite stones in Pansaimol, Sanguem, is posing a threat to the prehistoric rock carvings.

Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said on Tuesday that the government was contemplating organising an electronic dance music (EDM) festival in Goa, and that the government may not permit Sunburn in December if its dates clash with the states festival.

The Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) granted green clearance to the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) project at Dhargalim on Tuesday.

From going at a humble Rs 30 per kg until a fortnight ago, tomato prices saw a gradually substantial rise, now hitting the century mark. Last week when the tomatoes were selling at the retail rate of Rs 60-80 per kg, it seemed like they were at an all-time high. The juicy reds are now selling at Rs 100 per kg owing to shortage in supply caused due to unfavourable weather conditions that led to crop loss.

Rural development affairs (RDA) minister Govind Gaude said on Sunday that the state government would invite applications from ration card-holders with annual income less than Rs 5 lakh, to avail three free cylinders a year.

A preliminary study conducted by Goa Institute of Management (GIM) and the Goa chamber of Commerce and Industry across different disciplines found that 74% of the surveyed Goan students feel they lack the skills required by employers. However, the bigger concern, as pointed out by GIM professor Divya Singhal, is that most students are ill-equipped to handle difficult situations and failure.

Zaneta Mascarenhas on Saturday became the first Goan-origin person to be elected to Australias lower house of representatives. An engineer by profession, Mascarenhas was born in Australia, but her parents trace their roots to Goa.

During the conduct of the Class XII public exams, Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education found mobile phones being used by two different students for cheating. This is the first such case in the state of cheating using the electronic devices. Both students have been fined Rs 1,000 each, after an inquiry. Their marksheets will also carry a remark that they indulged in a malpractice

Taking serious cognisance of the myriad complaints about irregularities in the Parra-Arpora-Nagoa ODP, town and country planning minister Vishwajit Rane on Saturday said that all tenanted agricultural lands that have been illegally converted into settlement or commercial zones will be restored to their original status.

With a combination effect of cyclonic circulation over Kerala and a trough over Karnataka triggering intense rainfall activity over Goa, some places in the state received heavy rainfall over the past two days.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that laws that create hurdles in ease of doing business and ease of living will be eliminated during the monsoon session of the state legislative assembly. The law department is already in the process of identifying the laws which need to be eliminated, he said.

Class XII results of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education will be declared on May 21 at 5pm. The results are awaited by 18,201 students 8,925 boys and 9,276 girls.

Panchayat elections in the state are likely to be delayed as the state government on Thursday decided to seek some time from the state election commission (SEC) to obtain a detailed report from the OBC commission on OBC reservation.

In yet another incident of an underground cable getting punctured, Vasco, Baina, Mangor, Sada, Varunapuri, Gandhi Nagar and Shantinagar went without power supply for around 21 hours on Thursday after a gas pipeline contractor accidentally damaged three 33kV underground cables supplying electricity to Vasco and surrounding areas.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant said the state government will requisition water pumps from mining companies to drain water from mining pits during the monsoon in order to prevent any mishaps. He was speaking after meeting with the chief secretary, the directorate of mines and the disaster management authority to discuss safety measures that need to be taken up at mining pits.

Goa Medical College on Wednesday rusticated four MBBS students from the boys hostel for three months for assaulting another inmate of the hostel.

PWD minister Nilesh Cabral on Wednesday said that the state government will use new technology to repair potholes during the monsoon. He said Goa will be pothole-free by next monsoon.

The state cabinet on Wednesday decided to summon a month-long monsoon session of the Goa legislative assembly from July 11.

The likely northward shift of an upper air cyclonic circulation now lying over the interior regions of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and the possible persistence of a north-south trough across interior Karnataka, are likely to bring an increase in rainfall activity over Goa on May 19 and 20.

Results of the Class XII exams of the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education can be expected to be declared later this week, board officials have said.

Prices of tomatoes are on fire. Retail prices of the juicy reds have shot up from Rs 40 per kg to anywhere between Rs 60-80 per kg and vendors say that the prices are likely to remain on the higher side till the end of the month.

A year after the devastating cyclone Tauktae slammed into Goa, the state electricity department has revealed that the storm cost it Rs 25 crore.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said that Goa, which till now is known for sun, sand, and sea tourism, will soon also be known for spiritual and cultural tourism.

The state government has failed to conduct an environmental profile study in Goa for assessment of environmental health and its impact on human health. The Goa Medical College (GMC) was required to make an assessment on human health risks associated with environmental exposure and identification of mitigation action.

Even as there are 56,467 cases pending in Goas lower courts, just 4.7% of these of 2,674 cases are pending for over a decade. A large majority of pending cases, over 60%, are ones filed up to three years ago, while the figures for prolonged pendency has stablised in recent years.

The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has calculated Rs 2 crore as environmental compensation to be paid by a resort in Candolim for illegally building a club no-development zone of CRZ. A writ petition was filed in the matter in the high court, based on which the court had asked the GCZMA to estimate the damages caused by the illegal construction.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that the state government would amend recruitment rules to recruit skilled professionals in government departments. He said that the state has started a ie-up with private industries to get them to recruit Goans.

Cloudy weather prevailed for most of the day on Saturday, as India meteorological department (IMD), Panaji, forecast rain or thundershowers at isolated places over both districts for four days till Tuesday.

CM Pramod Sawant said on Saturday that there was a need for popularising Konkani literature among children, and called upon Konkani writers to take this up as a challenge to produce material that will attract the new generation towards Konkani.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that collaboration and investment by industry conglomerates like Tata Sons will offer great opportunities for Goa. Sawant on Saturday met Tata Sons group chairman N Chandrasekaran, Noel Tata and other CEOs, to boost investment in Goa.

A Mapusa court sentenced a French national to six months imprisonment and fined him Rs 10,000 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, 11 years after he was found in possession of narcotics at Vagator.