Speaking to reporters here, Atul Kane, head of the taskforce, said these industries were suitable to Goa, even as mining did not feature in the first batch of suggestions made by the task force. ”We have chosen sectors like tourism-related light engineering and tourism-oriented industries too which will supplement in ongoing business activity in the state, but at the same time we are looking to initiate other non-polluting industries too,” Kane said. He further said that the target set by the task force committee was Rs.25,000 crore investment, channelized into the state for the setting up of these above mentioned industries.

The taskforce has overshot the deadline of May 15 by which it was supposed to submit its report to the state industries department and then on to the chief minister’s office for finalization of policy.

Industrial activity in the state is facing a lull with the ban in mining as well as civil society protests against large pollution and resource intensive industries like smelting, real estate development, etc. In this light, the Industrial Policy is aimed at creating an industrial road map for the future and attracting investment to the state.

Courtesy: twocircles

Four generations of Parabs have been working tirelessly for restoring paintings, antiquities and wooden altars in churches. Goa has 180-odd churches and chapels spread across almost every corner of the state, which has 27 % Catholic population. As per information available from Goa State Museum, each of the religious orders has its own style of architecture and motif. “A typical church square generally has one or more piazza (square) cross, a Cristo Rei (Christ the King) monument and a grotto to our Lady. The square is often bounded by fourteen crosses of the via sacra (way of the cross),” a senior official said.

Goan churches belonging to 16th century era have undergone restoration several times, but post-liberation (1961), this is for the first time such an extensive exercise has been taken up

Goan churches belonging to 16th century era have undergone restoration several times, but post-liberation (1961), this is for the first time such an extensive exercise has been taken up. Altars are cleaned, dusted and given protective coating so that they are not spoilt. Mr Parab, who is trained by International Conservators of Rome, said that most of the churches require renovation now as they have lived for half a century after the last restoration. Fr Mousinho de Ataide from Goa’s first Church, built in 1514, conceded that the restoration is a concern for parishioners and priests across the state. Fr Ataide is a priest in Church of St John de Evangelist at Neura village near here, which is the first known Church to be built during Portuguese rule. “The upkeep and restoration is a concern for the parishioners as these Manueline styles of architecture needs proper care. They are vast,” he said.

The parishioners collect money for restoration and up-gradation in every church while Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been maintaining the Churches at Old Goa World Heritage Monument complex, he added. The state government does not have a scheme for restoration of churches, he said, adding that the concern is more for churches where number of parishioners are very less.

Radha Bhave, Director, Goa State Museum, said that they have started documenting various churches with their background, so that there will be proper record about their history and existence.

Courtesy: TH

Around 300-odd barges carrying iron ore from different jetties to the Mormugao Port and Panaji Port have been rendered jobless, due to current ban on exports of iron ore from Goa imposed by the Supreme Court. ”The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has already conducted a study on Goa’s 105-km-long coastline and declared its water as partially smooth, which will give a right to the ships from the state to travel up to 12 nautical miles in the sea,” Jadhav added.

The ships in Goa which are currently registered under the Inland Vessels Act, 1970 will have to be registered under the Merchant Vessels Act, 1958, to give it permission to travel mid-sea. INCOIS has already submitted its report to Goa’s Captain of Ports, who will have to forward it to the Union Ministry of Shipping, he said. Jadhav said that the barges would later be termed as “coastal vessels” and can carry cargo of different industries from Goa’s inland waterways to the ports in Mumbai or even upto Gujarat. ”Maharashtra and Gujarat governments have already got a study conducted by the INCOIS, which has certified their waters as partially smooth,” he said.

The ship owners in Goa are also looking at the forthcoming Industrial Investment Policy (IIP) of Goa which will allow construction of jetties along the inland waterways. ”The small shipping industry will be given incentives through this policy,” said Ralf D’Souza, a member on the government appointment task force to frame the IIP. He said that the merchant navy ship business will get a boost once IIP becomes a reality.

Courtesy: indiatvnews

While 3D gesture-recognition technology has come into the mainstream, with Microsoft’s Kinect and the up-coming Leap Motion leading the pack, a smartphone based on gesture-recognition is a rarity. The system, dubbed 3dim, adds a low-powered infrared light source to a standard smartphone camera. 3dim’s software will then search for mathematical structures in the 2D image data to simplify the scene. Differences in the time the infrared light takes to bounce off objects and return to the camera are used to gauge how far away those objects are.

Andrea Colaco and co-founder Ahmed Kirmani presents the 3dim solution

One of the co-founders, Andrea Colaco, who is a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab, said “what is the next interface for cellphone devices? It is gesture recognition. Every cellphone-device manufacturer is scrambling to bring gesture-recognition into their devices. This is an immediate and unaddressed market.”

The innovators won the MIT $100K entrepreneurship competition while presenting their invention as a “3dim” solution. The innovation gives real-time, millimetre accurate 3D gesture sensing on devices like mobile phones by using patented signal processing methods invented at MIT by Colaco, co-founder Ahmed Kirmani, Vivek K Goyal and Rahul Tejwani. Colaco has said that the prototype only requires a few milliwatts of additional power from the phone. This is about one-seventh of the amount of power needed by a standard smartphone camera. After the team won the competition, Colaco seemed confident that her invention can go far. “Now with the prize money, 3dim will go full steam. We will develop the technology for customers-smart-device manufacturers-who have already expressed interest in the product,” she said.

The team’s winning pitch made the most financial sense for the panel of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, scientists and industry professionals judging the eight finalists from over 3,000 participants.

Courtesy: tech2

The draft policy wants to make Goa an “aspirational destination” for investment into high-end manufacturing and R&D units, according to the task force on IIP. ”The main thrust of the policy is to create sustainable employment for locals,” Atul Pai Kane, who heads the task force, told reporters here today. The policy aims to attract investment worth Rs 25,000 crore and create 50,000 jobs for the locals in the next five years, he said.

According to the draft policy, the state government should give incentives to industries based on employment and revenue generation by them. Kane said 80 per cent of the jobs should be given to the locals. The policymakers have suggested that knowledge-based industry, pharma, research and development, tourism and food processing players should be welcomed in the coastal State. ”The whole idea is to make sure that cultural identity of Goa is not changed,” he said.

Insisting on equal distribution of industries across Goa, the task force has recommended that special incentives should be given to corporate entities who are willing to set up their facilities in the hinterland. Atul Jadhav, a task force member, said the policy will make the existing industries competitive. “Incentives will also be worked out for expansion of the existing industries.”

The policy is expected to be published in another two months, the task force has said, adding inputs from various stakeholders would be included in the final draft.

Courtesy: ET