Panaji, Dec 27 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh today announced that the central government would offer full support required to improve not only Goa’s knowledge sector but also its infrastructure and declared that Rs 1,650 crore would be spent on various infrastructural projects in the state.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the first phase of the Goa Broadband Network, this afternoon at the beginning of his two-day visit to the state, Dr Singh said that the Centre has approved the four-laning of the entire 139 km length of NH-17 passing through the state. He also said that a second bridge on the Zuari River has also been approved besides upgrading 69 km of NH-4A and these projects would help remove the bottlenecks faced by the state.
The Prime Minister also said that he was aware of Goa’s desire for an equitable share of facilities for higher education and that Centre would bear this in mind while locating new institutions for higher learning as envisaged in the 11th Plan.
“We will also provide financial assistance for improving state and district roads and the state government should send detailed proposals in this regard soon. Under Bharat Nirman, we will take up improvement of 760 km of rural roads. We will also work for improving the infrastructure of Panaji under the JNNURM. We will also help the state host the 2011 National Games,” he told the gathering amidst thunderous applause.
The Governor, Mr S C Jamir, the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, the Speaker, Mr Pratapsingh Rane, cabinet ministers, Union Minister of State, Mr Prithviraj Chauhan, all the MPs from the state – Mr Shripad Naik, Mr Francisco Sardinha and Mr Shantaram Naik, the Chief Secretary, Mr J P Singh, MLAs and officials were present on the occasion.
Describing GBBN as a pioneering project and an important milestone in the use of modern telecommunications and IT capabilities for improving public services and also the quality of lives of our people, he complimented the state government for implementing the innovative project.
It is indeed remarkable that such an initiative has come from Goa, whose image is one of modernity and freshness, said the Prime Minister. “I compliment the Goa government and its partners in this project for having moved forward so rapidly in implementing the project within a short time frame. I hope that as the project rolls out, its benefits will be felt by all sections of the Goan society. It will then truly become a harbinger of change and modernity into the Goan way of life,” he said.
Dr Singh described Goa as dynamic and progressive state, which has taken the lead in an innovative area. “You have begun well. I wish you well in your future endeavours to make Goa a knowledge state. I am confident that this digital capability combined with your high human development indices will take Goa to higher levels of excellence and prosperity.”
He said Goa was a beautiful state and although small in size, it was blessed with extraordinary natural beauty and occupied a pride of place for its scenic beauty, vibrant culture, tolerant tradition and forward looking people.
The warm and hospitable nature of its people has made Goa one of the most sought after international tourist destinations and that state has opened the door to large-scale tourism into the country, he added.
The Prime Minister, however, said that size has its limitations and that potential for industrialisation in Goa was limited and it has to strike a balance between maintaining pristine natural beauty and the needs of industry. He advocated that focusing on the services sector was a good option for Goa’s continued economic growth.
Stating that tourism has been one success story, he went on to add that Goa Broadband Network would hopefully be another. “It will open the doors of the knowledge economy to Goan people,” he remarked.
He further said that Goa was well positioned to take advantage of the knowledge economy with high literacy rate in the country and quite high ranking on many other socio-economic indicators and being compact and small, Goa could easily be connect with all parts with telecom links.
When the project was completed by the end of next year, with the lines reaching every home, there would be tremendous service opportunities in new fields such as healthcare, education and employment, he said adding that its people would be able to work out of their homes and the state could see an explosion of knowledge based employment in call centres, BPO centres and online services.
The entire state could benefit from low cost access to Internet telephony and video-conferencing facilities, he said expressing happiness over the project being implemented through the PPP mode based on a viable business model.
Dr Singh said that knowledge was the key success factor to adjust to the changing economic profile of the country and to find gainful employment in new emerging sectors.
He also called upon people to utilise the potential of technology for improving standards of living and invest in knowledge capabilities as the highest returns would go to those who generate “knowledge” and who know how to use it.
He said that knowledge was the common strand in all the forces of change and investment in knowledge and in knowledge tools was therefore going to be the key success factor for individuals or regions or nations. He said that he was happy that a state like Goa has realised the significance of this and described GBBN was a first step in positioning the state for the future.
Earlier, the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat said that his vision was to make Goa an educational hub and urged the Prime Minister to locate institutions like IITs/IIMs and so on, here, so that Goans could benefit. He said that Goa has been penalised for its good social and economic indicators and urged Dr Singh to extend all help to help state in improving its infrastructure so as to meet future requirements.
He also pleaded for central help to host the 2011 National Games in Goa and construction of a second bridge over Zuari river. He said that central help was vital for turning Goa into a model state in the country.
Mr Dayanand Narvekar, the Information Technology Minister, also spoke on the occasion. The Chief Secretary gave the welcome address while the IT secretary, Mr R P Pal proposed a vote of thanks.
The Prime Minister had a live interaction with the people from various parts of the state through broadband connectivity and answered their questions.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the first phase of the Goa Broadband Network, this afternoon at the beginning of his two-day visit to the state, Dr Singh said that the Centre has approved the four-laning of the entire 139 km length of NH-17 passing through the state. He also said that a second bridge on the Zuari River has also been approved besides upgrading 69 km of NH-4A and these projects would help remove the bottlenecks faced by the state.
The Prime Minister also said that he was aware of Goa’s desire for an equitable share of facilities for higher education and that Centre would bear this in mind while locating new institutions for higher learning as envisaged in the 11th Plan.
“We will also provide financial assistance for improving state and district roads and the state government should send detailed proposals in this regard soon. Under Bharat Nirman, we will take up improvement of 760 km of rural roads. We will also work for improving the infrastructure of Panaji under the JNNURM. We will also help the state host the 2011 National Games,” he told the gathering amidst thunderous applause.
The Governor, Mr S C Jamir, the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, the Speaker, Mr Pratapsingh Rane, cabinet ministers, Union Minister of State, Mr Prithviraj Chauhan, all the MPs from the state – Mr Shripad Naik, Mr Francisco Sardinha and Mr Shantaram Naik, the Chief Secretary, Mr J P Singh, MLAs and officials were present on the occasion.
Describing GBBN as a pioneering project and an important milestone in the use of modern telecommunications and IT capabilities for improving public services and also the quality of lives of our people, he complimented the state government for implementing the innovative project.
It is indeed remarkable that such an initiative has come from Goa, whose image is one of modernity and freshness, said the Prime Minister. “I compliment the Goa government and its partners in this project for having moved forward so rapidly in implementing the project within a short time frame. I hope that as the project rolls out, its benefits will be felt by all sections of the Goan society. It will then truly become a harbinger of change and modernity into the Goan way of life,” he said.
Dr Singh described Goa as dynamic and progressive state, which has taken the lead in an innovative area. “You have begun well. I wish you well in your future endeavours to make Goa a knowledge state. I am confident that this digital capability combined with your high human development indices will take Goa to higher levels of excellence and prosperity.”
He said Goa was a beautiful state and although small in size, it was blessed with extraordinary natural beauty and occupied a pride of place for its scenic beauty, vibrant culture, tolerant tradition and forward looking people.
The warm and hospitable nature of its people has made Goa one of the most sought after international tourist destinations and that state has opened the door to large-scale tourism into the country, he added.
The Prime Minister, however, said that size has its limitations and that potential for industrialisation in Goa was limited and it has to strike a balance between maintaining pristine natural beauty and the needs of industry. He advocated that focusing on the services sector was a good option for Goa’s continued economic growth.
Stating that tourism has been one success story, he went on to add that Goa Broadband Network would hopefully be another. “It will open the doors of the knowledge economy to Goan people,” he remarked.
He further said that Goa was well positioned to take advantage of the knowledge economy with high literacy rate in the country and quite high ranking on many other socio-economic indicators and being compact and small, Goa could easily be connect with all parts with telecom links.
When the project was completed by the end of next year, with the lines reaching every home, there would be tremendous service opportunities in new fields such as healthcare, education and employment, he said adding that its people would be able to work out of their homes and the state could see an explosion of knowledge based employment in call centres, BPO centres and online services.
The entire state could benefit from low cost access to Internet telephony and video-conferencing facilities, he said expressing happiness over the project being implemented through the PPP mode based on a viable business model.
Dr Singh said that knowledge was the key success factor to adjust to the changing economic profile of the country and to find gainful employment in new emerging sectors.
He also called upon people to utilise the potential of technology for improving standards of living and invest in knowledge capabilities as the highest returns would go to those who generate “knowledge” and who know how to use it.
He said that knowledge was the common strand in all the forces of change and investment in knowledge and in knowledge tools was therefore going to be the key success factor for individuals or regions or nations. He said that he was happy that a state like Goa has realised the significance of this and described GBBN was a first step in positioning the state for the future.
Earlier, the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat said that his vision was to make Goa an educational hub and urged the Prime Minister to locate institutions like IITs/IIMs and so on, here, so that Goans could benefit. He said that Goa has been penalised for its good social and economic indicators and urged Dr Singh to extend all help to help state in improving its infrastructure so as to meet future requirements.
He also pleaded for central help to host the 2011 National Games in Goa and construction of a second bridge over Zuari river. He said that central help was vital for turning Goa into a model state in the country.
Mr Dayanand Narvekar, the Information Technology Minister, also spoke on the occasion. The Chief Secretary gave the welcome address while the IT secretary, Mr R P Pal proposed a vote of thanks.
The Prime Minister had a live interaction with the people from various parts of the state through broadband connectivity and answered their questions.
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