THE ULTIMATE GOAN EXPERIENCE AT THE SPIRIT OF GOA FESTIVAL 2023

The three-day festival will also present l o c a l G o a n b r e w s , d i s t i l l e r s , infusers and s o m e v e r y G o a n a u t h e n t i c cuisines. It will a l s o h o l d a l i n e - u p o f g r e a t l o c a l m u s i c , f o l k d a n c e , comedy and much more. unique crops will also be a key factor of the event, emphasising their economic value and supporting the local agrarian economy.

The highly anticipated Spirit of Goa festival is back and promises to be even better than before. The festival will start from 21st April to 23rd April, 2023, at the SAG ground in Colva to celebrate Goa's culture, heritage, people's favourite Feni and culinary delights.

The festival offers an excellent opportunity for visitors to discover the unique talents of local artists, taste the iconic Cashew and Coconut Feni, and enjoy the lively Goan folk dances and music Local women and self-help groups will also showcase their handcrafted and local products.

Visit Of Consulate Of The Kingdom Of Netherlands

A team led by Mr Thierry Van Helden, Deputy Consul General , Mr Saurabh Sangle, Senior Consular Officer, Ms Dane Van Hemert called on the President, GCCI, Mr Ralph de Sousa, on 25th April, 2023 at GCCI Conference room.

Mr Ralph de Sousa gave a brief background on GCCI activities and the business scenario in Goa Netherlands has been a top trading partner of India in Europe with FDI of 4.6billion US dollars last year Netherland imports Tea, Coffee, Spices, Essential Oils from India. Mr D'Sousa specifically pointed out that Goa has been exporting horticulture products like Casava, Goan okra, Averrtoa(Bimbli) to Netherlands. GCCI will also be s i g n i n g a n M O U w i t h H AS U n i v e r s i t y , N e t h e r l a n d s f o r promotion of Agriculture in both the countries A team of Dutch students are already in Goa and are undergoing training for the same. He further added that Diamond and Jewellery are the main business areas in which both the countries have interest.

Mr Thierry Van Helden gave a brief about proposed Trade expansion of Netherlands Speaking about Goan Avenues, he informed that Netherlands would be interested in providing Technical expertise an Innovation in the fields of Waste Management, Climate change and SDGs.

The Deputy Consul General also inquired about IT and Startups in Goa and offered to support the startup Industry. He also gave a brief of the Visa process and details to the GCCI Members.

The Director General, Mr Sanjay Amonkar, informed the Deputy Consul General that Goa has t e c h n o l o g y b a s e d S t a r t u p Incubators in BITS Pilani which c o n c e n t r a t e o n M e d i c a l Engineering Research and Semi Conductors. New Innovations in Managing Waste and Plastic are welcome he added.

Mr Sanjay Amonkar, Director General, proposed the Vote of thanks, Ms Pallavi Arondekar, Director, compered and Program. Mr Kiran Ballikar, Director, was also present for the program.

Visitors can also witness Goa's sustainable lifestyle through the creative use of forest waste to create beautiful crafts, artefacts, and traditional Goan food preparations like curries and sweets. The Potential of Goa's small-scale industries, farms and agro-tourism along with Goa's

O n e c a n n o t m i s s t h e k e y highlights of the festival, the signature Cashew and Coconut Feni and the art of brewing them. Both define the very essence of the Goan way of living and its culture which is now acclaimed as a “ H e r i t a g e b r e w ” T h e instruments and vessels used for making feni will be on display too. The Department is committed to welcoming both local and international tourists while adhering to COVID guidelines and making Goa a safe tourism destination Join us for an unforgettable celebration of Goa's culture, heritage, and culinary delights at the 'Spirit of Goa' festival.

Blive Launches Green Hospitality Program In Hospitality Industry

India's leading multi-brand EV platform BLive has launched its unique Green Hospitality Program (GHP)- a first-of-its-kind initiative to promote green mobility and climate-conscious tourism in the hospitality industry. It will help the hospitality industry to deliver a unique environment friendly experience to their guests inside the campus, as they are going to u s e E V s f o r a l l i n t e r n a l transportation. Apart from that it will also help them to meet their ESG Goals (Environmental, social and governance goals) and reduce overall carbon footprint. Going forward, BLive will extend the benefits of this program to over 200 hotels and resorts in the next two years. During this, the company is looking at deploying 1000 electric under this program which will cater to the impact of over 20k travellers on a monthly basis. BLive will act as a one-stop shop also for hospitality brands to help them buy, rent or lease electric vehicles in a hassle-free manner It will be deploying electric vehicles on a lease-to-own-model and end-toend service support for smoother operations.

Under GHP, BLive is going to p r o v i d e h o t e l s , r e s o r t s a n d hospitality chains with a range of EV options including e-cycles, electric 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, 4-wheelers along with fast c h a r g i n g s t a t i o n s o n t h e i r p r e m i s e s W i t h h i g h - s p e e d charging stations, BLive will help its partners to provide seamless EV experience to their guests and staff.

In the first stage of this initiative, BLive has joined hands with country's leading hospitality brands such as JW Marriott Bangalore, Novotel and Varca Le Palm Goa to kickoff with switching to electric mobility. In its current partnership, the company has p r o v i d e d E V c h a r g i n g infrastructure to Novotel, electric 3-wheelers to Heritage Village Club and Varca Le Palms Beach Resort Goa, and 5 e-cycles to JW Marriott.

TWITTER REMOVES BLUE TICK FROM LEGACY ACCOUNTS OF POLITICIANS &CELEBRITIES

started removing the legacy blue ticks from the profiles of prominent people and politicians in Goa and across the world. Several political leaders including Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Congress leader Yuri Alemao and official political party accounts, ministers and some MLAs lost the blue ticks from their Twitter accounts. accounts that pay for the premium “Twitter Blue” subscription will be able to retain the 'verified' credential on their profiles.

able to retain the 'verified' credential on their profiles

Twitter initially announced plans to remove the legacy blue ticks on April 1, but the change applied to select accounts.

Twitter in March tweeted, “On April 1st, we will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks. To keep your blue checkmark on Twitter, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue.”

The new policy of the Twitter Legacy account with the Blue Badge has been changed under the flagship of Elon Musk. Twitter has removed the Blue Tick from all the major flagship accounts of prominent politicians and celebrities across the country. In Goa, most of the prominent politicians and political parties h a v e l o s t t h e i r b l u e t i c k (verification badge) on twitter and the reason behind this is said to be the promotion of a premium “Twitter Blue” subscription by an Elon Musk-owned company.

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e p o r t s published by the local dailies, Elon Musk-owned microblogging platform Twitter on Thursday

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte Visits Ihm Site For Inspection

500 seats. The tourism sector c o n t r i b u t e s t o about 35% of the t o t a l j o b opportunities in the state. While the new institute can train 3 2 0 s t u d e n t s , Khaunte said, its capacity can be increased further.

It is not alone the Goan politicians of political parties that have lost the Blue Verification Badge of Twitter but the big celebrities with millions of followers such as Virat Kohli, and Shah Ruk Khan have also lost their Blue Verification Badge.

According to the new policy, the Twitter only the organizations and people that pay for the premium 'Twitter Blue” subscription will be

The check marks that helped verify the identity of the celebrities and politicians and a u t h e n t i c a c c o u n t s t h a t distinguishes them from impostors will now only be a part of the Twitter Blue package.

In India, the price for Twitter Blue is 900 for iOS monthly, web monthly is 650 while the yearly rate for iOS is 9400. For Android users, the monthly rate is 900 while the yearly cost is 9,400.

Workshop On Story And Screen Writing At Esg By Troy Ribeiro

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte along with GTDC chairman Ganesh Gaonkar recently inspected the ongoing work of Institute of Hotel Management and Culinary Skills (IHM) at Farmagudi. The minister reviewed the progress of the work with the WRD chief engineer Pramod Badami and consultant Ravi Shankar.

After inspecting the underconstruction project on Thursday, tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said the capacity of the proposed Institute of Hotel Management and Culinary Skills at Farmagudi could be enhanced from 320 to

Chairperson of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), Ganesh Gaonkar, accompanied Khaunte during the inspection conducted to review the project's progress. The institute's foundation stone was laid around eight years ago and was to be built with funding from the Union tourism ministry. It was delayed and almost shelved, but subsequently, the Goa government decided to push it through. If a project undertaken under any central scheme is not completed in a given time, the state government has to refund the assistance received.

A 10-day/ 5 weekend- Story & Screenwriting Workshop will be held at the Entertainment Society Goa (ESG) Panjim from Saturday, April 29 till May 28. 2023 from 2.30 pm to 5 30 pm – on Saturdays and Sundays The workshop will be conducted by Goan WriterDirector and Film Critic, Troy Ribeiro.

The Workshop apt for local Film e n t h u s i a s t s , a n d a s p i r i n g s c r e e n w r i t e r s , w i l l e n a b l e participants to learn about the E l e m e n t s o f a s t o r y , S t o r y Movement, and How to structure their story for a Film. A Certificate will be provided upon successful completion of the workshop.

Troy Ribeiro is an alumnus of Xavier

Institute of Communications, Mumbai, with nearly 33 years of work experience in different areas of Mass Communication - Playwright and Director, Film Critic, Television Producer, PR Consultant, Professor, and Author. He has worked across three countries, India, UAE & the UK. Over the years he has written and doctored several film scripts. As a journalist and a film critic, he has written for many publications across India, UAE, and UK. His reviews can be read online and in The Goan.

As an Executive Producer and head of the production department at 'IN Mumbai' a terrestrial channel promoted by the Hinduja Group, he p r o d u c e d m a n y Te l e v i s i o n Programmes.

As a theatre buff, Troy has directed'Red Hot Mamas' and written and directed- 'Maureen, He and Me' and 'Apples and Walnuts'. These plays were staged at various venues in Mumbai including the Kala Ghoda Festival. One can see these plays on YouTube too.

His first novel 'Samina' is a whodunit published in 2020 With 'The Witness,' a short psychological drama, he forays into filmmaking.

Bhuvanish Shet, a Business Management graduate from the UK is a prominent businessman in Goa with many branches to his portfolio. He was born and brought up in Mumbai but shifted to Goa when his father decided to move his well-established construction company to Goa. Jai Bhuvan Group is a conglomerate of multiple family businesses that include Real estate business, Hospitality business Shopping Malls, Cinemas, Retail business and Education vertical owned by Mr Bhuvan Shet, his brothers Rajesh Shet and Dr Shekhar Shet and his mother Shakuntala Shet. He is also mentor for Aseema, English Monthly magazine, part of Jnana Bharati Prakashan Ltd. Aseema covers range of topics from current affairs, political events, business news, Historical events as well as social and cultural issues.

BYRAJESH GHADGE