[Goanet] GITP PRESS RELEASE: IT professionals condemn Goa govt. failure to renew lapsed Startup Policy
electorate. SPC GOA tweet – Nov 4 @Startup_Goa We are 100. Startup Promotion Cell, Goa has certified 100 Goa Startups in 3 years under the Goa Startup Policy 2017. Perhaps Goa has Highest number of Certified Startups per capita compared to other States. #StartUp is Better In Goa. SPC is committed to support #StartUp in Goa. https://twitter.com/Startup_Goa/status/1323914434239102977 ** Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] Fwd: Improving Goa's Ease of Doing Business
Dear members of the press, Kindly take note of GITP's message to the Govt of Goa. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/> -- Forwarded message ----- From: Goa IT Professionals - GITP Date: Tue, Sep 29, 2020 at 5:14 PM Subject: Improving Goa's Ease of Doing Business To: cm goa , cmo goa , Jennifer Monserrate < jennifermonserra...@gmail.com>, dir-indu goa , Goa Director DoIT , , Vishwajit Rane , , CEO IPB < ceo-ipb@nic.in>, Chief Secretary - Goa Cc: Shripad Naik , Vinay Tendulkar < vinaytendulka...@gmail.com>, gitp_core Dear public representatives and officials of Goa Govt., As per media reports the Goa government is in the process of reviewing the implementation of the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2020 and is in the process of collating data and inputs about their ease of doing business (EODB) action points from various departments. We at GITP would like to submit to the government a slew of measures for creating a healthy environment in the state to boost existing businesses, attract businesses from across the globe and also give confidence to local youth to turn to entrepreneurship. These measures, if implemented in letter and spirit will help boost EoDB ranking and also help further Goa government’s vision of Swayampurna Gaon, Sampanna Goem. We urge the government to implement these measures, with a stern hand if the need be, to help entrepreneurs and businesses operate effectively in Goa and in turn help the economic revival of the state post Covid crisis. Eliminate Ministerial involvement Eliminate the practice of obtaining approvals from ministers and chairpersons for investment proposals. It has been proved time and again that this centralisation of the otherwise decentralised file movement process is a major bottleneck. Despite having the highest per capita number of government employees, if Goa shows such a dismal performance, it is clear that we need to fix the bottlenecks in the processes being followed. Single Window The hassle free Single Window System and not yet another window added to the umpteen permission windows should be put in place ASAP. The system should have 100% online interaction. All instructions regarding expectations of the government in terms of certificates/permissions/NoCs/ Plans /licenses etc should be described on the website so that there is minimal back and forth interaction between government and the applicant. Simplified workflows Provide Simplified WorkFlows(SWF) to ensure that irrelevant departments and their approvals are eliminated. Deemed Approval All approvals have to be time-bound and the system should provide a deemed approval if it is not acted upon within the allocated timeframe. This should also result in a financial penalty on the concerned officer for dereliction of duty. It was promised during Vibrant Goa to provide approvals within 30 days. Almost a year later, this concept does not seem to have moved beyond paper. Using Services of consultant to tap industries with expansion/shifting plans Ernst & Young who has been taken on board by the Goa Government can also be asked to suggest a policy framework to attract industries that are planning to move out or expand from other states and countries especially from China. Develop power infrastructure and facilitate tapping alternate sources of renewable energy Blessed with renewable energy sources in abundance, Goa is rightly placed to serve as a model for generating solar, tidal and wind energy. This is the right time for the govt to make these efforts in association with the center and with international agencies to set up such plants in Goa. The Govt needs to widely publicize and enforce the rooftop solar power generation scheme and ensure that the promised benefits reach the beneficiaries in the stipulated time frame. This will help motivate many more to take up such initiatives. Technical Education geared towards creating industry ready manpower Industry looks for productivity from the hired candidates. The quality of graduates and their industry-readiness needs to be improved by setting up an Industry-Academics partnership so that the years of graduation are utilized most optimally and students are made aware of industrial best practices. This will eventually reduce the costs borne by industry in training the new hires. E-Governance The time is ripe for using and fine tuning E-Governance systems. Robust E-Governance systems will enable Govt employees to work from anywhere, streamlining the governance processes and ensure that hurdles are minimised in meeting permission
[Goanet] Fwd: Goa Govt. should set financial priorities right
Dear members of the press, Kindly consider the email below as a press note for publishing. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/> -- Forwarded message ----- From: Goa IT Professionals - GITP Date: Sat, Aug 1, 2020 at 4:29 PM Subject: Goa Govt. should set financial priorities right To: cm goa , cmo goa , Chief Secretary - Goa , , , < drpramodsawan...@gmail.com> Cc: , gitp_core Dear officials of Govt. of Goa, In the current troubled circumstances, while every government in the world is exercising restraint on expenditure, it is disheartening to see crores of rupees being earmarked for projects such as facelift of the Assembly, construction of Memorials, Raj Bhavan, convention centers, Panchayat ghars etc. These surely can’t be the priorities in these difficult times. Entrepreneurs and businesses in the state are reeling under extreme pressures to survive through the pandemic induced slags. Lack of basic infrastructure like connectivity and power is making matters worse for technology dependent businesses. Goa continues to rank behind in Ease of Doing Business for lack of a single-window system. Academic systems in the state are on the verge of crumbling down as the state, despite being one of the early starters in setting up IT and connectivity infrastructures and spending crores on doing it, has failed miserably to provide a viable online alternative to physical teaching and learning systems. Industries are closing down or retrenching staff. Tourism sector and all other allied industries have taken a big hit. Roads and transport systems in the state are in very bad shape. Common man is struggling to survive the Pandemic and is desperately looking for alternatives. On this backdrop, the least that can be expected from the government is judicious spending of the exchequer's money by setting the priorities right. Certainly the government is aware of these issues that have been aptly highlighted in the media. Hard earned money of citizens, paid as taxes cannot be washed away for luxuries, extravaganza, miscellaneous and non-priority infrastructure. We sincerely urge the government to instead invest the money in the future of Goa by improving connectivity in the state and setting up the long overdue single-window system for investment so that we see jobs being created and people earning a respectable living. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] GITP: Connectivity Survey for Goa
With E-learning (Online classes) and Work-from-home becoming a necessity in the present-day Covid-19 induced lockdown times, (and this might be the uncomfortable new normal), uninterrupted internet connectivity and power supply have become a prime necessity. We at Goa IT Professionals have taken up this survey to understand the Internet and power-related issues faced by professionals, students, parents, businesses etc across Goa. The data compiled through the survey will help us take up the issues with concerned authorities in the Govt of Goa. Survey Link: https://forms.gle/daieUJNzk5HJm1SQ6 Goa IT Professionals (GITP) is a registered, apolitical association of Goans in the Indian+Global IT-ITeS industry. Visit us at www.goaitpro.org <https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.goaitpro.org=D=159248275383=AFQjCNEGVGCUkWjJef7R10FY9i1Z0U0qVQ> Disclaimer / Declaration Personal Information collected from this survey will NOT be shared with any third party including Government and Industry. Only Derived information such as no of people affected in a particular area, may be shared with Policy makers/ISP/Electricity Dept for required action. <https://forms.gle/daieUJNzk5HJm1SQ6> Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] Fwd: GITP PRESS RELEASE: GITP urges Pramod Sawant to prioritize solution to Internet and Power issues
** *GITP urges Pramod Sawant to prioritize solution to Internet and Power issues* Goa IT Professionals (GITP) group has demanded that the Goa government take up urgent measures on war footing to find solutions to the connectivity and power woes of the IT industry in the state. With Corona Pandemic triggered economic upheavals across the globe the local IT industry is also badly hit like all other Industries. Goan IT Industries efforts to come up from the slump by using the tried and tested ‘work from home’ and ‘IT anywhere’ concepts are badly hampered due to poor internet connectivity and power outages. With the rising number of Covid Positive cases in the state, disruption in transport facilities, Covid infection fear, restrictions imposed on travel etc are making it difficult for employees to travel from homes to their places of work. This is creating severe problems in terms of meeting project deadlines whereby affecting the functioning of most IT businesses in the state. If good internet connectivity is made available across Goa at reasonable rates it will help facilitate effective functioning of the local IT industry as employees can work from their home which could be located in any corner of the state. Goa has a significant number of private ISP providers, but their primary focus are the urban areas with high population density where they can offer connections in close proximity without investing much in additional infrastructure like cable laying. Even the Goa BroadBand Network(GBBN), the PPP project in which the state government has pumped in crores of rupees has not been able to provide any solace to the industry in these difficult times. Especially in the rural area ISPs turn down customer applications due to high cost of last mile connectivity and in turn Goans are losing employment, business and education opportunities. ISP’s are asking customers to pay upfront installation charges which can vary anywhere between Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 for the fiber laying .People simply cannot afford this kind of installation charges. If the government can help in putting this basic infrastructure in place, the IT Industry can make the best of it and can also contribute substantially by providing much needed impetus to the economic revival of the state. With little hand holding and planning on part of the govt this green industry has the potential to generate substantial amounts of employment and can help the state make best use of the Human Resource that is returning homewards from across the globe due to the pandemic triggered repatriation. Another domain that is struggling badly due to poor connectivity and power supply is the field of education. With closure of academic institutions, E-learning is set to become the new normal. While students from cities have already started with their E-classes , students and academic institutions in the villages are still grappling in the dark. Only if the government takes up some urgent measures to find a solution to the connectivity problem will it be possible to save the academic year for thousands of students on the wrong side of the digital divide. One important question GITP wants to ask the government is, what are the rules of this PPP partnership with Gwave, that it will only provide connections in urban areas, which already have 2-3 service providers and great mobile coverage, and asks rural consumers to pay upfront 30-40 thousand rupees for fiber installation? Is the GBBN only created for urban areas? Wasn't the motive of GBBN Rural Connectivity? Is GBBN a failure or will the government work with the franchisees to prioritize Rural last mile Internet Connectivity during this pandemic? Also How should students and teachers manage in rural areas regarding online education? Or Rural students should be left uneducated due to Govt's failed network connectivity policies? In a recent conversation with the industry CM Sawant has suggested that employees working from home should shift to the local panchayat and commence working from there. A month has passed since this announcement but nothing substantial has happened in terms of giving a feasible form to this verbal suggestion. IT Park, Single window system for Industry, employment generation promises to youth, GBBN, garbage treatment, Govt offices providing online services, Goa as an education hub, and many more continue to remain as a promises galore. We want the government to come clear on its position on fixing these long pending issues. *<**ENGLISH PRESS NOTE END>* ** *वीज आणि इंटरनेटचे दीर्घकालीन प्रश्न सोडविण्यासाठी जीआयटीपीचे मुख्यमंत्र्यांना साकडे.* गोवा आयटी प्रोफेशनल्स (जीआयटीपी) गटाने राज्यातील आयटी उद्योगातील इंटरनेट आणि वीज समस्येवर तोडगा काढण्यासाठी युद्धपातळीवर तातडीने उपाययोजना करण्याची मागणी मुख्यमंत्र्यांकडे केली आहे. कोरोना साथीचा सर्व देशभरात उद्रेक झाल्यामुळे स्थानिक आयटी उद्योगही प्रभावित झाला आहे. गोव्यातील आयटी उद्योगाने खराब इंटरनेट कनेक्टिव्हिटी आणि तुटक वीज पुरवठ्
[Goanet] Fwd: Way forward for IT industry in Goa
Dear members of press, Kindly take note of the email sent by GITP to the Goa Govt. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/> -- Forwarded message ----- From: Goa IT Professionals - GITP Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 6:04 PM Subject: Way forward for IT industry in Goa To: , cm goa Cc: CEO IPB , Jennifer Monserrate < jennifermonserra...@gmail.com>, Rohan Khaunte , Goa Director DoIT , Managing Director - Infotech Corp of Goa < m...@infotechgoa.com>, IT Secretary , gitp_core < gitp_c...@googlegroups.com> To: Hon. CM CC: IT Minister, CEO of IPB, Officials of IT Dept Respected Chief Minister, GITP believes that the political and administrative churn should not be allowed to impact the larger cause of developing Goa as an IT destination and retaining Goa's educated manpower in the state. IT being a mass job creator, the IT ministry and its projects should be treated with the highest levels or urgency. We are committed to work with the new IT minister and provide our inputs towards the success of IT sector in Goa. We also urge the new minister to maintain continuity and achieve improvement in the pace set by the IT department, in terms of developing a vibrant startup ecosystem. As immediate areas that need attention: · The IT parks should be fast-tracked so that we see new companies investing in Goa and job opportunities generated. · The ESDM cluster needs to be put in motion from its long slumber since the time it was commissioned by the Hon. Prime Minister. · Single Window system should be implemented in letter, and spirit to ensure that hardships faced by startups at various stages including registration needs to be removed and the process needs to be simplified. · Mid-sized IT companies should be invited to Goa for initiating their setups regardless of the IT parks. · Mechanism must be put in place to ensure that the benefits under IT Policy, IT Investment Policy and Startup Policy reach the eligible beneficiaries at the earliest. · IT infrastructure in schools and colleges should be upgraded using funds from the center. Request to take the existing IT policies ahead based on the above points rather than building it again from the scratch. GITP would also place on record our appreciation for the consistent efforts put in by the IT department under the leadership of Mr. Rohan Khaunte as the IT minister. He has been instrumental in bringing several key initiatives into the sector and catering to several long pending demands of the IT Industry. The former Chief Minister Late Mr. Manohar Parrikar had involved the Tech Community in setting the direction for the industry. During a meeting of the task force, he had categorically stated that the next five years should take Goa twenty five years forward in the IT sector. Realizing his vision and taking significant steps in that direction will be the greatest tribute to Mr. Parrikar. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> *
[Goanet] Fwd: Goa govt's misplaced preference for vendors of medical equipment
Dear members of the press, Kindly consider the email below as a press note for publishing. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/> -- Forwarded message ----- From: Goa IT Professionals - GITP Date: Fri, Dec 21, 2018 at 3:53 PM Subject: Goa govt's misplaced preference for vendors of medical equipment To: Dr. Vijay Borges , Goa Director DoIT < dir-dit@nic.in>, IT Minister , IT Secretary < sect-it@nic.in>, Managing Director - Infotech Corp of Goa < m...@infotechgoa.com>, md-itg.goa , Shri Manohar Parrikar < manoharparri...@yahoo.co.in>, cm goa , Vishwajit Rane < visr...@gmail.com>, , Chief Secretary - Goa < cs-...@nic.in> Cc: c...@ciba.org.in , Goa Chamber < goacham...@goachamber.org>, Jervis Pereira , Nitin Kunkolienker , , Atrey Sawant , Atul Pai Kane , Atul Pai Kane , CEO IPB , Chief Secretary - Goa , Ernest Dias , girish_bharne , IPB , IT Minister , Kirit Maganlal , Martin Ghosh , Nana Bandekar , Nitin Kunkolienker , Rajkumar Kamat < rajku...@epkamatgroup.com>, Shekhar Sardesai , Shri Manohar Parrikar , Srinet Kothwale < sgoa2...@gmail.com>, Sudhir Mahajan IAS , Tulasida Pai , Yatin Kakodkar , < mla-mand@nic.in>, , cm goa , Sidharth Kuncalienker , Subhash Phaldessai < subhash.phaldes...@yahoo.com>, Laxmikant Parsekar < laxmikantparsekar...@gmail.com>, Sidharth Kuncalienker , Vijai Sardesai , Durgadas Kamat < durgadasska...@gmail.com>, , Suresh Prabhu < spra...@sansad.nic.in>, Suresh Prabhu , < elvisgome...@gmail.com>, , gitp_core < gitp_c...@googlegroups.com>, , Ravi Shankar Prasad , , Narendra Sawaikar < sawaikar.naren...@gmail.com>, Shripad Naik , < revolutionarygoans2...@gmail.com>, To: Officials of Goa Govt CC: MLAs, Central Govt , NGOs BCC: Local and National Press Goa IT Professionals (GITP) is deeply aggrieved about the sidelining of highly eligible Goan companies with proven track records while allocating Government contracts. The worrisome trend which was predominant in the Software and Web Development arena has now percolated into the ESDM sector. We strongly condemn the act of the *Health Department* of giving undue preference to certain companies, more specifically outsider companies when similar technologies are offered by equal or more competent Goan companies. The case in question here is of Kallows Engineering India, a Ponda-based ISO13485:2016 certified medical devices manufacturing Company having a US patent. As technology partner for the STEMI India program Kallows has deployed 750 tele-ECG machines across the country including Apollo Hospitals, Narayana Hrudayalaya, and government hospitals in Telangana. This competent Goan company with proven track record was sidelined while awarding contract for the medical devices under the STEMI(segment elevation myocardial infraction ) project which was recently launched by the Goa Medical College(GMC) and Hospital *on the basis of some mundane paper work*. The final contract was awarded to a Bangalore based company which did not even submit the bid for the STEMI equipment tender floated by the government. Besides several advantages, the difference in quality is such that while the Kallows product captures data from 12 channels simultaneously while the product chosen by the govt captures 4 channels at a time. Also, the price of Kallows' product is lower than the government's choice. Incidentally, Kallows Engineering India was awarded the Chief Minister’s Award for Best Technology Startup for its work in advanced mobile health care. Moreover, this highly reputed company has also been giving gainful *employment to significant number of Goan youth* for the past several years. . Local companies offer an important advantage as they are locally accessible to the state government and do not vanish like most of the companies from outside the state. Appeals are made by MLAs to the Goan youth to be self-employed. The government has been issuing registration certificates to startups under the IT and Startup Policies. What will genuinely matter to the local startup ecosystem is inclusion in government projects and a positive boost in terms of funding and handholding and not mere certificates and promises. We urge the Goa government, especially the *Department of IT,* to take cognizance of this discrimination and initiate corrective actions at the earliest. This will not only help restore faith of the Goan business community in the transparent working of the government but also build confidence amongst competent Goan entrepreneurs that no injustice will be
[Goanet] Enabling cashless transactions in Goa
Dear friends from Goan Press and Media community, Kindly take note of the suggestions offered by GITP to the Government of Goa regarding cashless transactions. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/> -- Forwarded message ------ From: Goa IT Professionals - GITP <goa...@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Jan 31, 2018 at 1:55 PM Subject: Enabling cashless transactions in Goa To: Shri Manohar Parrikar <manoharparri...@yahoo.co.in>, cm goa < cm@nic.in> Cc: min-it@gov.in, Chief Secretary - Goa <cs-...@nic.in>, gitp_core < gitp_c...@googlegroups.com>, sect-it@nic.in, secit...@gmail.com, "md-itg.goa" <md-itg@nic.in>, cmo goa <cmo@nic.in>, "Dr. Vijay Borges" <vijaybor...@gmail.com>, Rohan Khaunte <ro...@pywt.in>, ro...@shivsamarth.com Dear Hon. Chief Minister, We have a few suggestions regarding the proposed move to enable cashless payment in Govt. departments. - Elimination of corruption cannot be highlighted as the motivation behind enabling E-payments. Digital payments cannot eliminate corruption in any way. *It is still possible for officials to demand bribes in cash*. - The objective of digital payments should be to offer an *additional convenience*. All Govt departments should be made to enable this facility mandatorily. The *cash mode should not be stopped* as there will always be a large section of the society who will not be familiar with E-payments. Also, we should not see a halt in activity due to temporary snags in the telecom network. - Point of Sales machines necessitate the use of credit or debit cards. A more convenient option is to use *mobile-based payments*. Payments based on E-wallets and UPI have *no transaction fees* as compared to POS payments and hence would be the most preferred option. Mobile payments take less than half the time compared to swiping a card, typing a PIN and waiting for the system to respond. - In addition to government offices, digital payments should be mandated at all *horticulture outlets, prepaid taxi counters, bus stands and hospitals* as these are the places where citizens have the most frequent transactions. - Govt of Goa has an MoU with Google that may be utilized in spreading awareness and training about mobile based payments. Google offers the *TEZ* app which is apparently the most convenient app in the payment space based on the UPI system. It makes it possible to transfer money to another person in the vicinity without knowing his number making it easier than handing over cash. Goa is far behind in electronic payment adoption than several states where even roadside tea vendors accept mobile payments. It is high time the govt takes steps to promote this mode of payment. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> | goa...@gmail.com <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> Gurudev - 9167260039 | <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank>Yash - 9822475519 | Vincent - 9765410020 <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> *Important links: **About GITP* <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> * | **GITP on Social Network* <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> * | **GITP * <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> *Core Team* <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> *| **Goa Skills Registry - GSR <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank>* <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-8269299640126097751_m_-2836018712254817790_inbox/_blank> -- Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
Re: [Goanet] Gartner Conference 13th - 16th Nov 2017 Opportunity to showcase Goa
To: Goa Govt CC: Prime Minister's Office BCC: National and Local media Dear Minister of IT and members of Govt of Goa, We write with reference to GITP's numerous follow ups and reminders to the Department of IT and IPB over the past 3 years regarding an yearly event of world scale which is organised in Goa. IT Ministry, IPB and the Goa government has completely failed to make any use of these and other such opportunities it gets or similar leads provided by GITP. We write to you again hoping some action in this direction. Like every year, Gartner is organizing a symposium in Goa for 4 days between 13th - 16th Nov 2017. All details necessary to register and participate in this event are available at http://www.gartner.com/even ts/apac/goa-symposium. The importance of utilizing such opportunities to promote Goa as an industrial destination has been justified by GITP in the email communications below. Like every year, GITP is informing the Minister of IT, Investment Promotion Board and relevant departments of Goa Govt about this event well in advance. We sincerely hope this year will not bring another miserable absence of the Govt of Goa in this prestigious event. We again pledge complete assistance in ensuring an impactful participation of Goa which is likely to result in building the image of the state as a serious investment destination. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> On 4 Aug 2016 6:24 am, "Goa IT Professionals - GITP" <goa...@gmail.com> wrote: To: Goa Govt CC: Prime Minister's Office BCC: National and Local media Dear members of IPB and Govt of Goa, It is high time Goa contributes in a big way to the nation-wide spirit of Make In India initiated by the Prime Minister. Like every year, Gartner is organizing a symposium in Goa for 4 days between 15th - 18th Nov 2016. All details necessary to register and participate in this event are available at http://www.gartner.com/events/ apac/goa-symposium. The importance of utilizing such opportunities to promote Goa as an industrial destination has been justified by GITP in the email communications below. Like every year, GITP is informing the Investment Promotion Board and relevant departments of Goa Govt about this event well in advance. We sincerely hope this year will not bring another miserable absence of the Govt of Goa in this prestigious event. We again pledge complete assistance in ensuring an impactful participation of Goa which is likely to result in building the image of the state as a serious investment destination. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> -- Forwarded message -- From: Goa IT Professionals <goa...@gmail.com> Date: Thu, Oct 29, 2015 at 4:08 AM Subject: RE: Gartner Conference 2nd-5th Nov: Opportunity to showcase Goa To: Atul Pai Kane <a...@paikane.com>, "subhash.phaldessai" < subhash.phaldes...@yahoo.com>, cs-...@nic.in, Nitin Kunkolienker < nitinkunkolien...@gmail.com>, Goa Director DoIT <dir-dit@nic.in>, Atul Pai Kane <atulpaik...@gmail.com>, christopher parakh < christopher.par...@nic.in>, Nitin Kunkolienker < nitin.kunkolien...@smartlink.co.in>, Srinet Kothwale <sgoa2...@gmail.com>, dir-indu goa <dir-indu@nic.in>, Nana Bandekar <n...@nrbgroup.biz>, Tulasida Pai <tulasidas...@gmail.com>, i...@infotechgoa.com Cc: cm goa <cm@nic.in>, cmo goa <cmo@nic.in>, Laxmikant Parsekar < laxmikantparsekar...@gmail.com> Dear Atul and team, Just a gentle reminder here about the Gartner CIO conference happening in Goa this weekend as per our earlier mails below. Trust the needful has been done on your side to officially represent Goa and its IT/ESDM potential at this prominent global platform. As you have seen on the ground, in local press and in social media (Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/groups/Goaitp/>, YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrjf5bUWR06ZFQmHOhz_yDA>) we at GITP single-handedly represented Goa IT and Innovation at the recent Global Business Forum without any support, inputs nor presence (except for Tulsidas Pai) from the Goa government machinery despite our persistent follow-ups and our offer of full support to do the needful. And our effort has had an indisputable positive impact for the Goan IT start-ups as well as the overall image of Go
[Goanet] [PRESS NOTE] GITP Suggestions for E-governance in Goa
Dear Goanet(goanet@lists.goanet.org), In postscript are details about our suggestions of various E-governance initiatives to the Goa government for its consideration which will bolster current Goa government motto of Goem, Goenkar, Goenkarponn by improving the delivery of the much-needed people friendly service. We hope Goa government puts its full thrust in further streamlining delivery of public service. We request your support to push the govt into action. Kindly cover this story in your publications and let us know if you need any quotes or bytes from our Executive Team. Thank you very much. Regards, Goa IT Professionals - GITP | <http://www.goaitpro.org/> www.goaitpro.org | <mailto:goa...@gmail.com> goa...@gmail.com -- Forwarded message ------ From: "Goa IT Professionals - GITP" < <mailto:goa...@gmail.com> goa...@gmail.com> Date: 19 Aug 2017 15:34 Subject: Suggestions for E-governance initiatives in Goa To: "cm goa" < <mailto:cm@nic.in> cm@nic.in>, "cmo goa" < <mailto:cmo@nic.in> cmo@nic.in>, "Shri Manohar Parrikar" < <mailto:manoharparri...@yahoo.co.in> manoharparri...@yahoo.co.in>, "Rohan Khaunte" < <mailto:ro...@pywt.in> ro...@pywt.in>, < <mailto:min-it@gov.in> min-it@gov.in>, "Chief Secretary - Goa" < <mailto:cs-...@nic.in> cs-...@nic.in>, "Secretary Chief Minister" < <mailto:sectocm...@gmail.com> sectocm...@gmail.com>, < <mailto:ro...@shivsamarth.com> ro...@shivsamarth.com>, "Goa Director DoIT" < <mailto:dir-dit@nic.in> dir-dit@nic.in>, "Goa Sneha A. Sirsat" < <mailto:sneh...@nic.in> sneh...@nic.in>, "Managing Director - Infotech Corp of Goa" < <mailto:m...@infotechgoa.com> m...@infotechgoa.com>, "md-itg.goa" < <mailto:md-itg@nic.in> md-itg@nic.in>, < <mailto:sect-it@nic.in> sect-it@nic.in>, < <mailto:secit...@gmail.com> secit...@gmail.com>, "SidharthKuncalienker" < <mailto:sidk...@gmail.com> sidk...@gmail.com> Cc: "gitp_core" < <mailto:gitp_c...@googlegroups.com> gitp_c...@googlegroups.com>, "Narendra Sawaikar" < <mailto:sawaikar.naren...@gmail.com> sawaikar.naren...@gmail.com>, "Shripad Naik" < <mailto:nshripa...@gmail.com> nshripa...@gmail.com>, < <mailto:i...@goaelectronics.co.in> i...@goaelectronics.co.in> Dear officials of Goa Govt. GITP would like to make the following suggestions for E-governance initiatives the government may be planning: * Presently, online payments of utility bills are enabled on the websites of individual departments. Citizens have to visit websites of individual departments such as Electricity, City Corporation, etc. This can be replaced by a much more convenient mode of payment, the Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS). Each department can electronically provide the bills to BBPS. BBPS acts as a single window for all bills. Several banks have now integrated with BBPS and hence bill payments can now be made from an online banking channel of any bank. * Birth certificates, driving licenses, state board marksheets, etc. are currently issued in physical form. The DigiLocker allows government departments as well as any other organization to additionally provide the document in electronic form by storing it in the AADHAR-linked DigiLocker account of the citizen. The agency needs to know the AADHAR number of the citizen. The agency then has to convert the document into an electronic form and store it into the citizen's account. The documents stored in DigiLocker can be accessed by any other department if the citizen provides as approval without having to phyically submit copies. Departments, panchayats, municipal corporations of Goa can adopt this technology so that citizens never lose their documents and do not have to carry them when approaching the government for any services. * Village Panchayats are expected to set up their websites as announced recently. This should not make every Panchayat develop a website. A single multi-tenant website should be made by the Panchayat department and every Panchayat should be allowed given a section on the website to upload their details. Payment of taxes, etc. can be implemented just once. This will save a lot of cost. This is possible using frameworks like Drupal. * A travel guide App specially made for Tourist/People visiting Goa. We can enlist the different category of Service Provider like 1- Travel- Taxi, Rickshaw, Travel Agent, Rent-A-Bike, Private Cruise, etc. 2- Food List the different Restaurants with Authentic Cuisines. 3 - Events, Etc. We can have numerous services that can be included with some nominal charges to the interested part
[Goanet] GITP PRESS NOTE (9May2017): Need to urgently redefine Cyberage scheme - IMPORTANT
Dear Goan Press and Media friends, Keeping you all posted on our official reaction and recommendations to Goa govt. about the Rs.86cr tender recently opened by ITG under the Cyberage scheme. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/> -- Forwarded message ------ From: Goa IT Professionals - GITP <goa...@gmail.com> Date: Tue, May 9, 2017 at 4:44 PM Subject: Need to urgently redefine Cyberage scheme - IMPORTANT To: ** Dear members of Goa Govt., We understand that the government intends to clear the backlog of laptop distribution for XI and XII students under the Cyberage scheme. We are also aware that close to Rs.86cr has been earmarked for this distribution of about 45000 laptops. Though government’s intent in enabling the Goan youth on ICT (Information and Communication Technology) through this scheme is commendable and while this scheme has had scattered positive impact in the past, it has also had its lion’s share of allegations and issues of sub-standard hardware being procured at higher than market prices, misuse/selloff by recipients, etc. More importantly, GITP requests the Goa government to consider the following important points: 1. Cyberage has suffered poor end-user utilization due to unsuitability of supplied laptops for diverse and specialized high-processing power usage. One common laptop configuration cannot cater to varied student requirements considering their education streams and interests. Also, not every student needs a laptop if they already have one and it would help them to have add-on computer hardware for experimentation and research on IoT, robotics etc. 2. The computer hardware industry as well as its marketplace has significantly evolved to offer widely competitive products for a variety of end user applications. 3. Governmental bodies, in general, are ill-equipped to decide on technological matters. 4. A single vendor bagging such large state-level orders for commoditized items like laptops is adversely affecting the local technology small vendors and related economy in Goa. 5. With industry-grade Free Open Source Software (FOSS) options available today, most generic traditional software (viz. Microsoft Windows, Office etc.) needs of students can be catered for free today without spending precious public funds. 6. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has also sought re-evaluation and fine-tuning of the Cyberage scheme on the basis of its observations and feedback on several occasions since 2006. Hence GITP strongly recommends the following to Goa government for immediate action on this scheme: 1. Promote a culture of widespread technological innovation in Goa by allowing students to purchase required ICT hardware from the open market and avail a govt. subsidy against it capped at the amount which the govt. is about to spend per laptop through the ITG tender in question. 2. Goa govt. nor any of its bodies should get into procurement of commoditized hardware on such largescale for public distribution but rather use such opportunities to boost the wider local technology supplies economy which forms the bedrock of any technological innovation hub and is a major known weakness for Goa so far. GITP looks forward to decisive action from the Goa government in scrapping the ongoing blatantly inefficient ITG tender, and taking a new approach as recommended above. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] [PRESS NOTE] GITP Welcomes Budget Commitments for IT and Employment, gives recommendations to fulfill it
*-BEGIN-* *GITP Welcomes Goa Budget Commitments for IT and Employment, Recommends Ways to Fulfill it* Goa IT Professionals welcomes Mr. Parrikar’s strong commitments in his budget towards Goan education reforms to align with international benchmarks, and, generation of high-income modern employment for Goans to prosper in Goa. GITP is glad to have contributed in various ways to this endeavor so far, and assures full-hearted support to turn these words into reality on a war-footing given the urgency of the situation in Goa. The declarations and provisions made in the budget have sparked a new hope among thousands of Goan IT professionals and their families. GITP appreciates the importance laid on the IT industry as it employs professionals from several educational streams and stands to eliminate Goa's long standing problem of unemployment, brain drain and outward migration. *GITP has further made below recommendations on ways to achieve the commitments made by Goa Govt in the Budget 2017*, based on the current state of the industry: *Government projects* The budget lays stress on digitization of government records. Many government departments will have to undertake IT projects. The startup policy should make provision for preferring companies with local presence for these projects. *Ease of Doing Business* All procedures and necessary forms should be available on a website. There should be a single windows that needs to be approached for starting a business. Many states have enforced time-bound clearances of industrial projects. A project is deemed to be approved if there is no response from the government within 15 days. As a small state, Goa can do far better than this. *Plug and Play centers* The incubation centers proposed in the budget should offer plug and play services and should not be restricted for startups that need incubation. A company looking for setting up in Goa should be able to start on a small scale in these centers and later move to the IT Park. All necessary infrastructure such as reliable power, internet, etc. should be managed by the center, allowing prospective companies to immediately start their business without infrastructural hassles. *Effective Marketing* The government needs to get into overdrive to visit mid-sized companies in other parts of the country and understand their needs. From the interaction we have had so far, most companies need and environment that lets them focus on their business without worrying about regulations, water supply, transport, internet and power generation. *Utilization of existing spaces* Though the IT park is 2 years away, the government and IPB should facilitate the setting up of development units in the state in existing workspaces. Most of the large companies in other cities have started on a couple of floors before moving to larger premises. *Tax relief* The government should announce a tax relief to IT and ITES companies for at least 5 years proportionate to the percentage of local manpower. This will make Goa a profitable location and will encourage companies to hire local talent. Once we have a sizable number of companies in Goa, there will be enough manpower to attract more companies to the state. *Upgradation of school labs* IT-literacy in rural Goa is suffering due to non-working PCs in schools. These can easily be revived with cost effective solution proposed and demonstrated by GITP using devices such as Raspberry Pi. *-END-* Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] [PRESS NOTE] GITP Recommends Administrative changes for Generation of Modern Employment
Dear Goanet (goanet@lists.goanet.org), In postscript are details about our suggestions to the newly inducted Goa government which will further bolster current Goa government motto of Goem, Goenkar, Goenkarponn by creating the much needed high-income modern employment options for our youth without having to leave the state. While the state government is going to prepare the Common Minimum Program, we hope Goa government puts its full thrust on Information Technology for creation of jobs for Goan youth. We request your support to push the govt into action. Kindly cover this story in your publications and let us know if you need any quotes or bytes from our Executive Team. Thank you very much. Regards, Goa IT Professionals - GITP | <http://www.goaitpro.org/> www.goaitpro.org | <mailto:goa...@gmail.com> goa...@gmail.com -- Forwarded message ------ From: "Goa IT Professionals - GITP" < <mailto:goa...@gmail.com> goa...@gmail.com> Date: Mar 15, 2017 3:38 PM Subject: Administrative recommendations for Modern Employment Generation To: < <mailto:manoharparri...@yahoo.co.in> manoharparri...@yahoo.co.in>, < <mailto:sudindhavli...@yahoo.co.in> sudindhavli...@yahoo.co.in>, "Vijai Sardesai" < <mailto:vijaisardesai4fato...@gmail.com> vijaisardesai4fato...@gmail.com>, "Rohan Khaunte" < <mailto:ro...@pywt.in> ro...@pywt.in>, "cm goa" < <mailto:cm@nic.in> cm@nic.in>, "cmo goa" < <mailto:cmo@nic.in> cmo@nic.in> Cc: "Narendra Sawaikar" < <mailto:sawaikar.naren...@gmail.com> sawaikar.naren...@gmail.com>, "Shripad Naik" < <mailto:nshripa...@gmail.com> nshripa...@gmail.com>, "gitp_core" < <mailto:gitp_c...@googlegroups.com> gitp_c...@googlegroups.com> To: Hon. Chief Minister, members of ruling alliance CC: Press Dear members of the Goa Govt., In the past Goa has suffered because of rampant outward migration of its youth resulting in the dilution of its identity. The political parties that are part of the new government had stressed upon job creation in their manifestos. The government has to enable citizens to earn their livelihood rather than depend on allowances given by the government. Goa already has a disproportionate number of civil servants per capita. All future job creation needs to happen in the private sector in knowledge-based and green industries such as IT, Electronics and manufacturing. We should have high-income modern employment options for our youth without having to leave the state. The government now needs to get working in this direction from Day One. This is the only way we can get rid of the immoral economy that is currently powering Goa. We request certain changes to the administrative setup: Industry and IT should be headed by a single minister It is necessary to build a perception about Goa as an investment-friendly state. The minister will be expected to coordinate among the departments and take holistic decisions. Several industries complement each other. IT industry works for other industries. They cannot be looked at in isolation. The minister needs to be energetic and have excellent communication skills to be able to interact with potential investors. Departments of Industries and IT should have a single full-time director So far the Directors have been given additional charge leaving them no time to focus on effective functioning of their departments. All states have a full-time Director for these critical departments. Goa being a small state should appoint a single IAS officer in charge of both the departments. Again, this role requires a dynamic and energetic individual. The departments should be given time-bound targets in terms of job creation in the private sector. Involve industry professionals as advisers Several professionals like us are willing to voluntarily offer their services and expertise to the Government. We request the government to capitalize on this motivation of professionals from the industry and involve them in the policy-making and its execution. All the infrastructure that is getting developed needs to benefit Goan natives and not just tourists. For that to happen, Goans have to be retained in Goa. We hope the new dispensation will give utmost importance to fulfilling this need Goa screams for. As a responsible organisation, The Goa IT Professionals pledge their support, time and energy in bringing back our sons of soil. Regards, Goa IT Professionals - GITP | <http://www.goaitpro.org/> www.goaitpro.org | <mailto:goa...@gmail.com> goa...@gmail.com Important links: <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> About GITP | <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> GITP on Social Network | <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> GITP Core Team | <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> Goa Skills Registry - GSR | <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/> Project GEIT
[Goanet] GITP PRESS NOTE (17Feb2017): Talk by Dr. Harold D’Costa on “Cyber Crime – Offence & Defence” at WisdomLab on 21Feb2017
*-BEGIN-* The recent revolutionary demonetization in India has opened up doors to great many technological innovations. However many cyber perils lie in wait for the unsuspecting users of the online economy and which if left unaddressed could undermine the benefits of demonetization besides financially crippling the affected users. Hence education and understanding of this important matter by the general public besides leveraging innovation opportunities by technology experts in this field is a must. WisdomLab and Goa IT Professionals (GITP) are pleased to organize a valuable but free session in this regard. Dr. Harold D’Costa is a young, renowned cyber security expert who consults and collaborates at the state, national and international levels especially with law enforcement agencies and judicial system on cybercrime breaches and digital evidence. He will hold an interactive session on “Cyber Crime – Offence & Defence” at 5:30pm on 21Feb2017 (Tuesday) at the upcoming innovation hub, WisdomLab, at Verna (https://goo.gl/maps/GWJG41qeKyT2). Kindly RSVP to 9423056074 latest by 20Feb (Monday). *-END-* Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] GITP PRESS NOTE (15Feb2017): Local entrepreneurs and experts review WisdomLab
Re-forwarding this press note since it doesn't appear to have been delivered to most recipients due to large attachment size. Regret any inconvenience caused. Thanks. *BEGIN-* Budding entrepreneurs and out of the box innovators will now have a new destination to look forward to in Goa - WisdomLab. The upcoming multi-discipline Innovation ecosystem, WisdomLab at Verna is all set to begin its operations within a month's time starting with 7000 sft plug-and-play work space, scalable up to 37,000 sft. Through a network of credible individuals and institutions, WisdomLab has set off on a path to contribute in its own ways towards making Goa the Innovation & Well-being Capital of India in the years ahead. In a first of its kind engagement, WisdomLab organized a Brainstorming Huddle at 6 pm last Friday, 10th February 2017, wherein local entrepreneurs and experts reviewed and provided feedback on its current infrastructural setup and the roadmap for its future. Raj S. Amonkar, Co-founder of WisdomLab and a passionate entrepreneur, welcomed the guests and thanked them for their precious time, valuable inputs, and moral support. He also explained WisdomLab's vision, purpose, criteria for sustaining team synergies, and industry focus areas. Vincent Toscano, Co-mentor, WisdomLab IT/ITeS track, presented the detailed plans and current progress before opening up the session to discussions. About 30 people from different fields across Goa attended this event. In a productive interaction that lasted more than an hour, a number of valuable inputs and ideas surfaced spanning the complete spectrum from concerns to possibilities for such an undertaking in Goa. However, everyone agreed that such a platform is much needed in Goa to boost the local startups and businesses, and enable creation of wider awareness among Goans about innovation and entrepreneurship. As a remembrance of WisdomLab’s first community interaction, every attendee left their handprints in different colours on a wall art creating beautiful, flower-like patterns. GITP commends WisdomLab's sincere and serious attempt to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Goa, and wishes it the very best for the future that lies ahead. *(Attached are few photos about WisdomLab and the event)* *-END-* Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] GITP PRESS NOTE (15Feb2017): Local entrepreneurs and experts review WisdomLab
*BEGIN-* Budding entrepreneurs and out of the box innovators will now have a new destination to look forward to in Goa - WisdomLab. The upcoming multi-discipline Innovation ecosystem, WisdomLab at Verna is all set to begin its operations within a month's time starting with 7000 sft plug-and-play work space, scalable up to 37,000 sft. Through a network of credible individuals and institutions, WisdomLab has set off on a path to contribute in its own ways towards making Goa the Innovation & Well-being Capital of India in the years ahead. In a first of its kind engagement, WisdomLab organized a Brainstorming Huddle at 6 pm last Friday, 10th February 2017, wherein local entrepreneurs and experts reviewed and provided feedback on its current infrastructural setup and the roadmap for its future. Raj S. Amonkar, Co-founder of WisdomLab and a passionate entrepreneur, welcomed the guests and thanked them for their precious time, valuable inputs, and moral support. He also explained WisdomLab's vision, purpose, criteria for sustaining team synergies, and industry focus areas. Vincent Toscano, Co-mentor, WisdomLab IT/ITeS track, presented the detailed plans and current progress before opening up the session to discussions. About 30 people from different fields across Goa attended this event. In a productive interaction that lasted more than an hour, a number of valuable inputs and ideas surfaced spanning the complete spectrum from concerns to possibilities for such an undertaking in Goa. However, everyone agreed that such a platform is much needed in Goa to boost the local startups and businesses, and enable creation of wider awareness among Goans about innovation and entrepreneurship. As a remembrance of WisdomLab’s first community interaction, every attendee left their handprints in different colours on a wall art creating beautiful, flower-like patterns. GITP commends WisdomLab's sincere and serious attempt to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Goa, and wishes it the very best for the future that lies ahead. *(Attached are few photos about WisdomLab and the event)* *-END-* Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> | Project GEIT <https://www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT/>
[Goanet] Press Report -We GITP Response to CM’s statements on Samvaad Yojana
Dear members of the Press and Media, Please find attached press release printed on Herald. *We GITP Response to CM’s statements on Samvaad Yojana* As per recent comments by Chief Minister of Goa, the ‘Goa Samvaad Yojana’ is a step towards preparing Goan students for the IT sector. He further states that the scheme would help students in getting introduced to the technology. Goa IT Professionals (GITP), however, does not agree with this perspective and considers this scheme an election gimmick at taxpayers' cost for the following reasons: • If just having access to free internet was, in any way, a means towards getting introduced to IT sector, then almost every individual, young or old, who currently owns a smartphone would have started using digital payment methods much before the current demonetization move. • With broadband internet being around for more than a decade, lakhs of Goans would have been employable by now in the IT industry. • Without built-in filters and mechanisms, this Yojana is bound to be misused for wasteful things like games, pornography etc. • Without mandatory educational inputs, through this scheme, about productive uses of internet, especially for skills development, how will the Goan youth be “prepared for IT sector”? • IT hubs of global repute in our neighboring states have created millions of IT jobs without any such schemes. Goa government would do better to learn a few things from our neighbours about doing the right things for development of IT industry rather than such gimmicks and empty talk with no results seen yet from the pittance of an IT Policy it announced a year ago. • On an average, more than 80% of computers in our school Computer Labs are non-functional since many years as the bulky CPUs (Central Processing Units) of these computers have perished due to their sensitivity to dust, humidity and electrical fluctuations. GITP has repeatedly demonstrated to this government rugged, compact alternatives like Raspberry Pi-based systems that run on Free Open Source Operating Systems and Software, which not only reduces the overall cost to 1/10th, but also ensures that the system would function properly for much longer duration in our current school conditions. With this solution, all non-functional CPUs in 450 schools across Goa could have been replaced with Raspberry Pi kits within Rs. 2 cr as a one-time cost versus the Rs. 1 cr that will now be wasted per month on the Samvaad Yojana. • Reliance Jio has extended their free high-speed internet offer till March 2017 rendering the Samvaad Yojana redundant till then. If our government could start the Samvaad Yojana from April 2017 then the resulting savings from preceding months would have sufficed to fix all Goan school Computer Labs as explained above. *"Giving free mobile internet and saying that this will make the youth IT ready, is like giving free petrol and saying that this will make youth ready for F1(Formula 1 race)."* Our CM does not seem concerned that due to the dilapidated state of our school Computer Labs, generations of Goan youth have been passing through our schools without any meaningful understanding of the productive use and transformational power of computers. Enabling school Computer Labs and local libraries with low cost high value-add computer systems with functioning internet connectivity would have helped in effective and focused promotion of technology for student community. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/>
[Goanet] [PRESS NOTE] Goa IT Manifesto 2017 (GITP)
above points to be successfully accomplished. Goa IT Professionals (GITP) group is an apolitical voluntary association of Goans and well-wishers employed in the Indian and global Information Technology (IT) and related industries contributing their personal time and resources to promote a locally sustainable IT industry in Goa through our strategy of enabling and pressurizing governmental bodies into action for time-bound results towards achieving our vision of Goa becoming the self-sustaining and eco-friendly Innovation Capital of India by 2024! ** Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/>
[Goanet] Invitation for GITP press conference @ 4pm 9Dec (Friday)
Dear friends from Goan Press and Media community, GITP would like to invite you for our press conference tomorrow: *Location: *Siddarth Bandodkar Hall, Bandodkar Charitable Trust, Second Floor, Above Axis Bank, Near Mahalakshmi Temple, Panaji, Goa * Date: *December 9, 2016 (Friday) *Time: *4pm This will be our year-end progress review of various initiatives undertaken by us as well as the state government on important matters pertaining to promotion of the Goan IT industry: 1. Release of our *IT Manifesto* to all political parties to encourage local entrepreneurship and prosperity among Goans. 2. Cost-effective revival of *dilapidated Goan school Computer Labs*, and, revision of school-level Computer Education syllabus from the current clerical to the creative. 3. All-Goa school-level *Best Computer Teacher Awards* announcement. 4. GITP perspectives on state govt. initiatives: a) Goa Yuva Samvad Yojna b) Chimbel IT Park c) Goa Chief Minister's Startup Challenge d) New Incubation Centers e) Ease of doing business in Goa Request your esteemed presence for this press conference and do join us for some snacks and tea thereafter. *Goa IT Professionals (GITP) is an apolitical association of passionate Goans from the Indian and global IT-ITeS industry who believe that Goa can be the leader in being the smart state of 21st century and are working towards helping all political and industrial groups to achieve this dream.* *CONTACTS:* Gurudev Naik: 91672 60039 Gaurish Kambli: 99227 88878 Vincent Toscano: 97654 10020 Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/>
[Goanet] GITP PRESS NOTE (01-DEC-2016): GITP calls Goan schools to celebrate Computer Science Education Week starting Monday
** Goa IT Professionals (GITP) appeals to all Goan schools and colleges to actively participate in the upcoming *Computer Science Education Week* during December 5-11 (i.e. next week) to help their students understand how computer science is touching every sphere of human activity today and the ease with which they can equip themselves to benefit from it. GITP through its Project GEIT (Goans Empowered with Information Technology) initiative has already circulated details to more than 180 email contacts of Goan schools about the free online “Hour of Code” activities of USA’s code.org especially planned for next week through which students can self-introduce themselves to the exciting world of creative computer programming with simple online fun exercises based on popular cartoons and animated movies. Millions of children worldwide have taken to the productive use of computers and internet as a direct result of code.org and similar institutions’ work over the past few years. See our email below for details. GITP understands that the current dismal plight of Goan school Computer Labs and broadband connectivity will likely impede participation of many schools and students in the Computer Science Education Week activities. We continue our efforts to enable and pressurize the state government to address this serious infrastructure matter but are disappointed by its progress so far. Nevertheless, it would go a long way if the school managements atleast create awareness among their students about free online learning resources like code.org, Khan Academy and others which the students could then explore from their homes and their parents’ smartphones instead of wasting time on just games, videos and other distractions available on the internet. ** Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> -- Forwarded message -- From: ProjectGEIT GITP <projectg...@gmail.com> Date: Thu, Dec 1, 2016 at 5:57 PM Subject: Re: Computer Science Education Week (5-11Dec) - FOR YOUR ACTION To: allgoa-highschool <allgoa-highsch...@googlegroups.com> Cc: GEIT Helpdesk <projectgeit.helpd...@gmail.com>, Goa IT Professionals < goa...@gmail.com> Dear all, One last reminder from our side regarding the *free online Computer Science Education Week activities *happening next week as per our earlier email below. Kindly do not lose this opportunity and should you need any guidance then please drop an email to our Helpdesk team at projectgeit.helpd...@gmail.com. Thanks & regards, *Project GEIT (Goans Empowered with IT)* - a Goa IT Professionals (GITP) group initiative *Email:* projectg...@gmail.com, projectgeit.helpd...@gmail.com <projectgeit.helpd...@gmail.com> *Facebook*: www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT *YouTube:* http://goo.gl/ezWXbn *Project GEIT @ Tech Balcao series on Prudent TV: *25April2016 ( https://youtu.be/Ksn4XB4StlM), 18July2016 (https://youtu.be/zP3ayfjGrxs) *Contacts: *Eruch Coutinho +919823120406 / Sangeeta Naik +918805162600 / Vincent Toscano +919765410020 On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 12:55 AM, ProjectGEIT GITP <projectg...@gmail.com> wrote: > Good morning! > > A gentle reminder to all Goan school leaders...please do not miss this > opportunity to provide a global technological exposure to your students for > free next week. Follow the instructions in our below email and contact our > GEIT Helpdesk team marked in Cc on this mail for further guidance should > you need any. > > All the best! > > Thanks & regards, > *Project GEIT (Goans Empowered with IT)* - a Goa IT Professionals (GITP) > group initiative > *Email:* projectg...@gmail.com, projectgeit.helpd...@gmail.com > <projectgeit.helpd...@gmail.com> > *Facebook*: www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT > *YouTube:* http://goo.gl/ezWXbn > *Project GEIT @ Tech Balcao series on Prudent TV: *25April2016 ( > https://youtu.be/Ksn4XB4StlM), 18July2016 (https://youtu.be/zP3ayfjGrxs) > *Contacts: *Eruch Coutinho +919823120406 / Sangeeta Naik +918805162600 / > Vincent > Toscano +919765410020 > > On Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 10:31 AM, <projectgeit.helpd...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Dear School Leaders, >> >> >> >> Greetings from the Project GEIT team! >> >> >> >> It’s a week since our *TechSparkle2016* camp concluded and our team is >> just coming out of that wonderful experience of introducing 200+ kids >> across Goa to the amazing world of Information Technology. 90+ kids >> attended it in North Goa at the Central Library (Patto) and 110+ kids >> attended in South
[Goanet] [PRESS NOTE] GITP disappointed with Goa Govt's failure in improving Ease of Doing Business in Goa.
BCC TO GOAN PRESS AND MEDIA: 150+ recipients ** *GITP disappointed with Goa Govt's failure in improving Ease of Doing Business in Goa.* Goa government has yet again disappointed the Goan youth as its rank on the Ease of Doing business in Goa dropped from 19 to 21 in the latest state wise report. With election code of conduct coming barely in 2 months, govt's inaction on important issue of employment and bringing industry to Goa, clearly shows this government is no different than the previous governments. In a recent interview CM Parsekar claimed that for Goa the low EODB rank is wrongly projected and is not improving as Goa is already reformed. This however is far from true and the fact is that not just the new and upcoming units, even the existing units are facing hardships due to old and stale processes. The compliance procedures are not listed on any government website. Entrepreneurs have to rely on information spread by word of mouth. With no single window clearance procedure in place, registrants are left to run pillars and posts to complete initial registration procedures. Demands of bringing important departments online have been consistently ignored by the government. The Investment Promotion Board which was supposed to be a single window for clearance has become yet another window. Again there is no website for approaching or contacting this window. This compared to other states, who have been running single window systems for years, have major of their departments and procedures online and have set records in starting new investments/units in mere 15 days. It has been a collective failure on the part of the government as well as industry bodies in resolving the issues related to EODB. Goa has the highest number of government employees per capita. Yet the resultant effectiveness evident from such reports proves to be a case of maximum government and minimum governance. GITP demands that the work on the industry and employment promotion be expedited. We also demand to release statistics on number of jobs this government has created in knowledge based industries like IT, Electronics, and R Given the poor track record of this government while formulating and releasing the Investment Policy and that *till date not even one IT company has invested in Goa nor any employment has been generated in the IT sector* due to Government efforts, GITP feels same treatment is being given to reforms, IT park work, startup and investment promotion, while priority is being given to freebies and doles in the name of Digital India. GITP as always assures full and active support to the government for enabling locally sustainable IT industry and employment generation in Goa. We also wish to remind this government of the promises it made to the local youth during last elections about jobs and stopping the brain drain and warn about effects of governments failure on this fronts in the coming elections. ** Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/>
[Goanet] [Press Note] GITP LAUDS DIRECTOR OF IT'S EFFORTS IN IMPROVING IT SCENARIO IN GOA
Dear members of Goan media, Goa IT Professionals [GITP] lauds the efforts made by Mr. Ameya Abhyankar IAS, who is currently the Director of IT among other portfolios; in setting the ball rolling towards building the prospects of the IT industry in the state. GITP feels that what he has achieved after assuming his office in the IT department is truly remarkable. Given the track record of the Department of IT prior to him assuming office, it was very much in need of such a dynamic leadership. Laying the roadmap for the Tuem ESDM park and Chimbel IT park, efforts made for local interaction with the various stakeholders, Partnerships/MoU with Google and Amazon, Development of Incubation facilities in the State, exploring options like Google Loon to counter internet bandwidth shortfall, spearheading Governments Outreach program to the various IT majors are some of the milestones that Mr. Abhyankar has achieved with his team. Mr. Abhyankar has taken significant proactive steps that have not been witnessed in the past. He is highly approachable, receptive to suggestions and a go-getter in his approach. The IT community and the State of Goa at large need more leaders like Mr. Abhyankar in the Administration. GITP believes that there still a long way to go and that the vigour and enthusiasm that Mr Abhyankar brings with him is needed to be sustained and encouraged at all levels of governance, more particularly IT industry development. Over the years, the lack of suitable IT infrastructure in the state has driven away a lot of Goan youth to the neighbouring cities, and thus causing the dilution of the Goan Identity. GITP insists that Mr. Abhyankar be suitably recognized by the Government for his efforts and ensure he is allowed to serve the State for another term with ever increasing zeal and passion. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/>
[Goanet] [PRESS NOTE] GITP DEMANDS LOW-COST REVIVAL OF DEAD GOAN SCHOOL COMPUTER LABS, PLANS TO APPROACH PMO TO FORCE RIGHT DECISIONS (30-SEP-2016)
** *GITP DEMANDS LOW-COST REVIVAL OF DEAD GOAN SCHOOL COMPUTER LABS, PLANS TO APPROACH PMO TO FORCE RIGHT DECISIONS* In a meeting on 21-Sep-2016 with the Goa Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar, and his team comprising of heads from the Education and IT departments, Goa IT Professionals (GITP) presented once again their recommendations regarding revival of school-level Computer education (curriculum as well as infrastructure) which has been in dilapidated condition throughout the tenure of this government. GITP had earlier on 27-Jan-2016 met the Chief Minister and his team including Goa InfoTech Corporation leaders on this same matter and have been following up eversince for time-bound and judicious utilization of the Rs.25 crores provisioned by the government for this purpose in the current financial year. With low cost, high durability and globally proven hardware options like Raspberry Pi available today coupled with comprehensive Free Open-Source Software (FOSS) covering all educational needs upto class 12th and beyond, the nearly-dead school computer labs across Goa could be fully revived within Rs. 2 crores while the rest could be utilized to provide schools with solar-powered computer labs, smart-classrooms, funding for Tech Clubs, inter-school Tech competitions, Tech camps during vacations, etc. GITP expressed its disappointment to the Chief Minister about the recently released Goa InfoTech Corp tender for procurement of 4468 conventional, delicate, expensive and virus-prone computers for schools with Microsoft Windows and Office software despite GITP’s demonstration of low cost and efficient alternatives in 3 Goan schools since last academic year, findings of which are with all relevant government departments for the past 8 months. The bold initiative of Goa Board to revamp Computer education for classes 9-12 was explained to the Chief Minister along with the need for it to be extended to lower classes to ensure early technology introduction as well as seamless learning and teaching experience for the students and teachers respectively. The revised curriculum is expected to come into effect from the next academic year and is proposed by GITP to be carried out as a Goa government and Goan IT community collaboration. Chief Minister was impressed with the palm-sized Raspberry Pi device that GITP team demonstrated in this meeting as well as its recommendations regarding FOSS and full-fledged Computer education curriculum revision and gave his nod for his teams to consider these and begin work on the same. With elections on the Goan horizon, GITP expects the government to get things done within the next couple months. It is also planning to approach the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to ensure that the right things done for effective Computer education in Goa without wastage of precious public funds on the typical hardware and software scandals witnessed in Goa. *<**ENGLISH PRESS NOTE END>* ** *मृतप्राय झालेल्या गोव्यातील शाळांमधील संगणक कक्षांची कमी खर्चात पुनरुज्जीवन करण्याची जी.आय. टी. पी. ची मागणी. योग्य निर्णय घेण्यास भाग पाडण्यासाठी पंतप्रधान कार्यालयाशी संपर्क करण्याची योजना.* दिनांक २१ सप्टेंबर २०१६ रोजी मुख्यमंत्री व त्यांचा शिक्षण व माहिती तंत्रज्ञान खात्यांचे प्रमुख यांचा अंतर्भाव असलेल्या गटाबरोबर झालेल्या चर्चेत जी.आय. टी. पी. ने शालेय स्तरावरील संगणक शिक्षण, जे सध्याच्या सरकारच्या संपूर्ण कार्यकाळात अत्यंत हलाखीच्या स्थितीत आहे, त्या विषयी आपल्या शिफारसी पुन्हा एकदा त्यांच्या समोर ठेवल्या. या आधी दिनांक २७ जानेवारी २०१६ रोजी जी.आय. टी. पी. ने मुख्यमंत्री व गोवा इन्फो टेक महामंडळचे अधिकारी सामील असलेल्या गटासोबत भेटीत हाच विषय समोर ठेवला होता. सरकारने या कामासाठी या वर्षासाठी निर्धारीत २५ कोटी रुपयांचा विनियोग समयबध्द व समंजसपणे करण्यासाठी त्यानंतर निरंतर जी.आय. टी. पी. पाठपुरावा करीत आहे. १२वी पर्यंतच्या आणी त्यापुढच्या सर्व प्रकारच्या शिक्षणाच्या गरजा, कमी खर्चाचे, टिकावू व जागतीक स्तरावर मान्य झालेले सध्या उपलब्ध पर्याय जसे की रासबेरी पाय आणी त्याला जोडून सर्वंकष मोफत ओपन सोर्स सोफ्टवेयर वापरून आता जवळपास मृतपाय असलेले शाळांमधील संगणक कक्ष केवळ २ कोटी रुपयात पुनरज्जीवीत करता येतील. यातील मग राहीलेली रक्कम शाळांना सौर उर्जेवर चालणारे संगणक कक्ष पुरवीणे, स्मार्ट वर्ग बनवीणे, तंत्रज्ञान मंडळांना अर्थपुरवठा करणे, आंतरशालेय तंत्रज्ञान स्पर्धा आयोजीत करणे, सुटीत तंत्रज्ञान शिबीरे आयोजीत करणे, इ. कामांसाठी वापरता येतील. मागील शालेय वर्षापासून जी.आय. टी. पी ने कमी खर्चात व कार्यक्षमरित्या चालणऱ्या पर्यायांचे सादरीकरण ३ शाळात केले, ज्याबद्दलचे निष्कर्ष संबंधीत सरकारी खात्यात गेल्या ८ महिन्यांपासून उपलब्ध आहेत, तरी सुध्दा ४४६८ पारंपारीक, नाजूक, महाग व संगणक विषाणूसंसर्गजन्य मायक्रोसोफ्ट विंडोज व अॉफिस युक्त संगणक शाळांसाठी घेण्यासाठी हल्लीच सरकारने प्रस्तुत केलेल्या निविदे विषयी जी.आय. टी. पी ने आपली नाराजी मुख्यंत्र्यांजवळ व्यक्त केली होती. ९वी-१२वी पर्यंतच्या संगणक अभ्यासक्रमाची सुधारणा करण्याचा जो गोवा बोर्डने साहसी पुढाकार घेतला आहे तो मुख्यंत्र्यांना समजावून सांगितला गेला. त्याच बरोबर निम्न स्तरावरील वर्गांपासून तंत्रज्ञान ओळख करण्याची गरज तसंच एकसंध शिकण्याच
[Goanet] GITP PRESS RELEASE: Goan schools' Computer education in sorry state due to governmental inaction
Dear press and media community, (Bcc intentional) In postscript are details about our sustained efforts to create awareness, enable as well as pressurize the current Goa government to improve the plight of Computer education in schools given its extremely high potential to positively impact the teaching effectiveness of all other subjects as witnessed across the globe. While the state government has recently gone into an overdrive signing MOUs with Google and others, practical outcomes from these remain to be seen given the fact that this very same government has been squatting on basic simple things in its direct control for months and years. Govt's inaction despite schemes and budget availability, and tendency to waste precious public funds on unsuitable hardware and unnecessary licensed software for school education needs to be strongly questioned. We request your support to push the govt into action. Kindly cover this story in your publications and let us know if you need any quotes or bytes from our Executive Team. Thank you very much. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> == *Project GEIT (Goans Empowered with IT)* - a Goa IT Professionals (GITP) group initiative *Email:* projectg...@gmail.com *Facebook*: www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT *YouTube:* http://goo.gl/ezWXbn *Project GEIT @ Tech Balcao: *25April2016 (https://youtu.be/Ksn4XB4StlM), 18July2016 (https://youtu.be/zP3ayfjGrxs) *Contacts: *Eruch Coutinho +919823120406 / Sangeeta Naik +918805162600 / Vincent Toscano +919765410020 -- Forwarded message -- From: Goa IT Professionals - GITP <goa...@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Sep 14, 2016 at 2:32 PM Subject: FOR CM's ATTENTION: Education portfolio looking bad...needs urgent action...see email for details To: cm goa <cm@nic.in>, Laxmikant Parsekar <laxmikantparsekarbjp@gmail. com>, cmo goa <cmo@nic.in>, Chief Secretary - Goa <cs-...@nic.in>, Goa Director DoIT <dir-dit@nic.in>, dir-educ@nic.in, dir-dte@nic.in, "subhash.phaldessai" <subhash.phaldes...@yahoo.com>, Managing Director - Infotech Corp of Goa <m...@infotechgoa.com> Respected Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar: While we are appreciative of your efforts to establish a MOU with Google which has some standard value-adds for Goan schools, GITP would like to bring to your attention the following points related to your Education portfolio for urgent action from your government: 1. As explained to you in our meeting on 27Jan2016, and even as of today, the state of Goan school computer education continues to be terrible. This remains a serious blot on your tenure as the Education Minister of Goa. a. Barely 1-2 of the 10 govt-provided PCs are in working condition. b. Most software licences (Windows OS, MS Office) on govt-provided PCs are pirated. c. Syllabus is centered on the clerical instead of the creative and productive use of computers. d. Most computer teachers are incompetent even on basics. e. Scheme240 created by your govt a year ago and the Rs.25 crores provisioned in this FY budget are yet to reach the schools. 2. With extremely cost-effective and rugged hardware available today (viz. Raspberry Pi etc.) and Free Open Source Software (FOSS), it is criminal for any govt to be spending precious public funds on purchase of the traditional expensive and delicate hardware and licensed software which have historically only led to scams and the above mentioned plight of our Goan schools. As explained to you on 27Jan, with just Rs.1.58cr every school in Goa could be given 10 Raspberry Pi (or equivalent) kits to revive their dead Computer Labs. Any Goa govt. department found violating such cost-effective recommendations will face GITP’s and the larger IT community’s wrath in public including RTIs and legal action if necessary. *Our core team members have witnessed first-hand a senior Education Dept. official (name to be disclosed if needed) recently claiming that Goa InfoTech Corp. has issued a tender for traditional hardware for schools. Please stop it immediately and channel the same funds towards the right hardware (software free) as per our above **recommendations based on **time-tested global best practices.* 3. Goa Board of Education has initiated a major drive to upgrade the Computer Education syllabus for classes 9-12 from next academic year as a result of which they have held workshops in each taluka for all school Computer Teachers besides also holding a seminar for all HSSE Principals. GITP and its well-wishers
[Goanet] GITP helps bring public transport to your fingertips
Goa IT Professionals(GITP) is happy to announce the launch of a project that puts public transport timetables on Google Maps and makes them available to every citizen at their fingertips. This project was executed by a group of Final Year students as part of their curriculum under the guidance of GITP. One member of the group, Mr. Chaitanya Malik, decided to offer the project as a service to Kadamba Transport Corp. and River Navigation department. Time tables, routes and boarding points of these agencies have now been published to Google and can be accessed at http://bit.do/mygoa or maps.google.com or through the Google Maps mobile application. With the convenience of knowing bus and ferry timings as and when needed, the project encourages citizens to prefer public transport over personal vehicles for their daily commute, thereby reducing congestion on our roads. The data presently published consists of 90 bus routes out of 300 and all the ferry routes in Goa. The remaining data will be published over the next 2 months. The data may have a few unintended shortcomings. We request citizens to point them out by sending an email to new...@googlegroups.com. We highly appreciate the encouragement, dedication and eagerness shown by officials of Kadamba and River Navigation on this project. This project serves as a classic example of a partnership between Government, professionals and students for the benefit of the state. We call upon more professionals in various engineering fields to contribute back to the society applying their knowledge and experience. GITP also requests applications through our website from IT/MCA/B.E. students who would like to do such projects under the guidance of IT professionals during their academic course. Regards, *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> | *Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/>
[Goanet] [GITP PRESS BYTES] OPEN LETTER to IPB and Govt. of Goa
Dear Goa Net (goanet@lists.goanet.org) : Please carry this open letter to the IPB and Government of Goa in your esteemed publications. For any clarifications feel free to write to goa...@gmail.com. -START- OPEN LETTER TO IPB AND GOVT OF GOA. Dear members of IPB and Govt of Goa, Prior to the declaration of the state investment policy, the majority of investment in the state came from the hotel industry and real estate. There was hope among the state's youth that manufacturing, R and IT will gain prominence as thrust areas once the IPB is formed. The approvals given by the IPB however show that the majority of investments continue to come from hospitality and real estate while there is only a marginal increase in other sectors coming mainly from expansion of existing units. Hospitality and Real Estate need no promotion from the government. These industries will keep coming to Goa on their own with or without the presence of IPB. Investments from these industries should not be counted towards the target of 5 jobs. The skill of the IPB and the government lies in inviting modern industries that are driven by knowledge and that generate quality products without affecting the state negatively. There needs to be an effort to improve the buying power of Goans. This is possible only in the presence of employments avenues in the private sector. The government may argue that vast amount of SEZ land is stuck in legal disputes. Modern industries can work out of small distributed units. With a strong political will and little creativity, sick and unutilized units from industrial estates, unused government and private buildings, etc. can be utilized to set up a large number of small and mid-sized companies in Goa. Policies, committees, task forces and consultants matter only when they add value. The latest consultant KPMG needs to be given an aggressive time-bound target of signing up a large number of manufacturing and IT companies to invest in the state. They should also be given the task of preparing an inventory of possible locations that can be utilized by the industry. The amount paid to the consultant should be linked directly to the jobs they create in industries that have been identified as thrust areas. Regardless of a consultant, it is the industries and IT department that need to be given equally aggressive targets. The single window system is yet to be implemented. Road shows, company visits, email correspondence with potential investors, and every possible step to project Goa is the need of the hour. All other states are taking active steps in attracting investments by setting up time-bound processes for starting a business. In spite of being the state with highest number of government employees per capita, Goa ranks 19th on ease of doing business. We insist that the government takes steps on a war footing, most of which are absolutely obvious. -END- Goa counts on you!!! Viva Goa !!! Regards, Core Team | Goa IT Professionals - GITP | <http://www.goaitpro.org/> www.goaitpro.org | <mailto:goa...@gmail.com> goa...@gmail.com Note: If you haven't registered yourself on Goa Skills Registry as yet, please do so at <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> skills.goaitpro.org Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <http://www.goaitpro.org/our-team> |Goa Skills Registry - GSR <http://skills.goaitpro.org/> *This is an auto-generated email.
[Goanet] PRESS NOTE (30-Jun-2016): Calling Goan schools to nominate under Project GEIT this academic year
*BCC TO GOAN PRESS AND MEDIA: 170+ recipients* Dear Members of the Media, Project GEIT (Goans Empowered with Information Technology), the flagship initiative of Goa IT Professionals (GITP), is the single most revolutionary people-driven change happening in the Goan school education system beginning last academic year. This academic year Project GEIT is all set to reach out to as many Goan village schools as possible with a nomination-cum-compliance based model. We are sharing herewith details of the same. Kindly give the initiative wide publicity through your esteemed print/electronic media and oblige. With regards, Team Project GEIT *PRESS NOTE (30-Jun-2016): Calling Goan schools to nominate under Project GEIT this academic year* Project GEIT (Goans Empowered with Information Technology), the flagship initiative of Goa IT Professionals (GITP), is the single most revolutionary people-driven change happening in the Goan school education system. It is a voluntary community initiative planned, funded and organized by Goan professionals and well-wishers by devoting their personal time, resources and network for the sheer love of Goans in Goa. It is a strictly apolitical people’s movement…of Goans, by Goans and for Goans to prosper in Goa through technology! Having successfully piloted our unique approach in 3 Goan village schools (i.e. Gokuldem, Neura and Chorao) last year, Project GEIT is now open to all schools of Goa on a nomination-cum-compliance basis. Project GEIT and its activities are suitable and relevant for, and hence limited to, students of Classes 4-9. Preference will be given to village schools over city schools given their disadvantageous scenario with respect to Technological access. *Every school as part of Project GEIT will benefit as follows:* · A huge advantage to your students towards the latest global technological advancements and their relevance in various aspects of human life including the creative space through live demonstrations and interactive sessions with experts from Goa and beyond. · Free computer hardware donated by individuals and companies through Project GEIT will be LEASED to the needy schools on returnable basis limited to their Project GEIT tenure. · Project GEIT will enable and facilitate benefits to its partner schools from relevant government, corporate as well as private schemes and initiatives. · No costs to the participating schools for Project GEIT activities. · Participating schools’ Computer Teachers will be trained for free by Project GEIT on the necessary technologies. *Project GEIT expects the following minimal commitments from each participating school to initiate and maintain their partnership on a bi-monthly basis:* · The school MUST have a proactive and productive Computer Teacher OR at least another staff member passionate about technology to successfully lead the Project GEIT activities at the school. Otherwise they must NOT apply for Project GEIT as it would waste precious time and resources of our volunteers. · Include computer programming using SCRATCH, a child friendly computer programming platform from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT-USA), in your Computer curriculum over and above the regular curriculum with guidance from Project GEIT. We are also working on getting it formally included into the Goa state board curriculum. · Ensure timely completion of the monthly SCRATCH assignments published by Project GEIT and maintain a formal record of each student’s progress on the same. ·Ensure the safety, security and appropriate usage of Project GEIT leased hardware and make good any damages to or loss of such hardware to Project GEIT within maximum 30 days. ·Submit overall progress and compliance report in the prescribed electronic format towards bi-monthly audit which would determine the school’s continuity under Project GEIT. ·Consent for the performance of the school to be judged on pre-defined Project GEIT parameters per each half-year term and, the scores and ranking of all Project GEIT schools to be publicly published. This is to ensure productive outcomes, accountability, transparency and competitiveness among the participating schools. For any queries on Project GEIT kindly contact: *Sangeeta Naik* +918805162600 / *Vincent Toscano* +919765410020 or +918322239986 *Email:* projectg...@gmail.com *Facebook*: www.facebook.com/GoansEmpoweredWithIT *YouTube:* www.youtube.com/channel/UC2HnpZv_yj8lK4kM-U_MhLQ *Viva Goa !!!* Regards, | *Goa IT Professionals – GITP *| www.goaitpro.org | goa...@gmail.com Note: If you haven't registered yourself on Goa Skills Registry as yet, please do so at *skills.goaitpro.org <http://skills.goaitpro.org>* *Important links: About GITP <http://www.goaitpro.org/gitp> | GITP on Social Network <http://www.goaitpro.org/follow-us/> | GITP Core Team <ht
[Goanet] PRESS NOTE (23-Jun-2016): GITP demands computer programming inclusion in Goan school curriculum
*BCC TO GOAN PRESS AND MEDIA: 170+ recipients* Project GEIT (Goans Empowered with Information Technology), the flagship initiative of Goa IT Professionals (GITP), is the single most revolutionary people-driven change happening in the Goan school education system beginning last academic year. Project GEIT recently concluded its pilot year on a high note with a successful 10-day Information Technology-centric Summer Camp 2016 during May 2-13 at the Central Library (Patto, Panaji) attended by 84 school kids from 28 locations across Goa and where 25 industry experts and leaders, academicians, creative masters and tech-wizards presented and demonstrated for free the use of Computers in a wide variety of applications relevant to human life today like internet safety for children, movie-making, animation, robotics, music, telecommunications, ship design, astronomy, blogging, enablement for people with disabilities, mobile app design and development (using App Inventor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), networks, databases, agriculture, entrepreneurship, Indian language computing, 3D printing, SCRATCH (i.e. a child-friendly computer programming platform from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA), Hour of Code and more. The children were left spell-bound and we have some great feedback from them as well as their parents regarding this camp. The camp concluded with a SCRATCH programming contest designed by a tech-wizard Class 8 student from Panaji who was also one of the presenters-cum-teachers at this camp! All this was done for free with many parents voluntarily contributing to cover all expenses of this camp while others donated a total of Rs.26,515/- to 2 Goan charities through Project GEIT. Akin to our similar Diwali2015 camp this proves again and beyond any doubt that Goans and their well-wishers, guided in the right direction, are capable of revolutionising our school education system all by themselves. We would much appreciate if your publications can showcase this work in your weekend editions to create wider awareness among Goans. We could provide you full details, photos and quotes from people (i.e. students, parents, experts) on our various activities till date. *Project GEIT is now all set to reach out to as many Goan village schools as possible this new academic year with a nomination-cum-compliance based model. And demands inclusion of the child-friendly, open-source SCRATCH into the Goa state board syllabus for school-level Computer Education from this academic year itself. Our core team had met the Chief Minister in this regard earlier and will pursue this matter again for its implementation.* “A key observation from our work so far is that our Goan children have a great hunger to learn the productive and creative use of IT and with the right guidance and hands-on exposure they could beat even children from advanced countries like USA, Japan etc. And this could revolutionize the future of Goans in Goa,” said Sangeeta Naik, Co-Leader of Project GEIT and Executive Member of GITP. “Instead of teaching just clerical stuff like Microsoft Office to our children and they whiling away so much of their time on computer games Goan kids need to be formally introduced to computer programming in order to reveal to them the true power of controlling a machine or device. For the sake of our future Goan generations prospering right here in Goa, we demand that the Goa government takes the bold step of introducing SCRATCH programming in the school syllabus immediately. Project GEIT offers to conduct a 2 day training program on SCRATCH for all Goan school Computer teachers…for FREE!,” said Vincent Toscano, Co-Leader of Project GEIT and Vice President of GITP. Given below for your reference are excerpts from our minutes of meeting with* GOA CHIEF MINISTER, LAXMIKANT PARSEKAR*, on 27-Jan-2016 regarding Project GEIT on which you will hear regular updates from us in the months ahead as we crank up our enablement-cum-pressure on the government to produce results: [START] Regarding our ProjectGEIT (Goans Empowered with IT) initiative being piloted in 3 Goan village schools this academic year: o We shared with you our key objectives of using IT to develop scientific thinking among children, making general subjects interesting through use of existing free online resources, and, bringing the latest technological exposure to our village children. o GEIT is a completely society driven initiative – by the people, for the people – with volunteers giving their time and resources to make it happen. We hope to take it to all Goa level in the next academic year. o We brought to your attention the sorry plight of Computer Labs in Goan schools with barely 1-2 working PCs out of the original government provided 10 PCs which have run out of warranty with no repair service available. Also most of these PCs have pirated Windows and Microsoft Office licences which your government might want
