Heena Sharma Blog

  The Goa government will launch 'Tika Utsav' , a grassroots drive to maximise coverage of the Covid-19 vaccine for people above 45 years, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday. The drive was launched a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual conference with Chief Ministers, urged the states to encourage citizens to get vaccinated. "Goa will hold 'Tika Utsav' across the state from April 11-14, 2021. The vaccination drive will be undertaken at the panchayat level for maximum coverage," Sawant said, even as the state has witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases over the last few weeks. "It will be celebrated in Goa in all the village panchayats. We have the infrastructure available -- halls, etc... The PM has stressed on testing, tracking and asked that we increase the number of testing facilities," the Chief Minister said, adding that if all people above 45 years get vaccinated, the state would see 50 per cent coverage. Read More

  Goa's Covid-19 tally is increasing "day by day", Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Monday, but said that no decision had been yet taken to impose restrictions, as a precautionary measure to prevent further spread of the deadly virus. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government function in Panaji, Sawant also said that both people as well as the government of the day share the responsibility of keeping Covid-19 numbers under check. "Covid cases are increasing day by day. It is the responsibility of both (government and people) ... the government keeps urging people to take care of themselves. We advise social distancing and other (SOPs). We want to test in a big way. People should take care of themselves and get themselves tested," Sawant said. "There are 250 cases in Goa, it should be kept in control. We need people's cooperation. Government has not taken a decision yet to impose restrictions. We are personally monitoring the situ...

  The Goa government plans to implement its New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 by June next year, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday. The three sub-committees formed to examine educational infrastructure and finalisation of new syllabi in sync with the NEP have been asked to submit reports by February 2021 said Sawant, who also holds the education portfolio. "The three panels will make recommendations for pre-primary, secondary and higher secondary education after studying the infrastructure available in Goa. They will also examine the issue of new syllabi," Sawant said. Speaking to reporters outside his official residence here, Sawant said that he had sought updates via a virtual conference on Friday from a 27-member committee specially formed by the Education Department to examine the eduction policy. Read More

The government of Goa on Sunday issued a notice, whereby, it authorised Swiggy, Zomato and other home delivery platforms to operate and deliver food, groceries and other essential items at doorsteps during the lockdown due to COVID-19 . "ECommerce operators such as @swiggy_in, @ZomatoIN and other platforms have been permitted to deliver food and grocery items. #GoaFightsCOVID19 ," the Goa Chief Minister's Office tweeted today. Earlier, two more coronavirus positive cases were reported in Goa on Sunday taking the state's tally to five. A total of 1024 positive cases of COVID-19 have been found in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday. 27 persons have lost their lives due to this disease in the country. Read More

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant Wednesday proved the majority of his BJP-led government in the Assembly, comfortably winning a floor test in the House. Twenty MLAs voted for the motion of confidence in the two-day old government, while 15 opposed it. The special session of the House was convened by Governor Mridula Sinha to conduct the floor test, after Sawant was sworn in as the CM during wee hours of Tuesday. Besides 11 members from BJP, three each from Goa Forward Party, MGP and Independents supported Sawant during the head count conducted in the House. The Assembly session was presided over by Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo. All the 14 MLAs of Congress and one from NCP stood up against the motion. After winning the trust vote, Sawant appealed all the members to join hands with him to ensure that developmental work reaches every nook and corner of the state. Read More Article Source -> Business Standard