Goa accounts for 12% of drug manufacturing in India: CM
Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Sep, 2021 11:13 AM
Panaji, Sep 21 (IANS) The pharmaceutical industry in Goa accounts for 12 per cent of all medicines manufactured in the country, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday, while also rooting for development of Goa as a model hub for export in the country.
"Pharmaceutical industry in Goa produces 12 per cent of the total medicine manufactured in India. Around 70 per cent of the product is exported to the most developed countries in the world," Sawant told a government function in Panaji organised to promote industrial trade in the state.
"We all share a goal. The goal is to enhance Goa's export potential by finding new opportunities and entering the new markets. As we are the smallest state in India, we are facing unique developmental challenges due to our small population and limited natural resources, like availability of land. Therefore we all must work shoulder to shoulder to make Goa as an export hub, a model export state for the rest of the country," the Chief Minister also said.
Sawant said that obtaining Geographical Index (GI) tagging for indigenous products would also help increase the synergy between local entrepreneurs and those involved in traditional occupations.
"Our government is working to get geo-tagging for more Goan products. The GI tagging will help Goan entrepreneurs to involve traditional businesses, such as manufacturing of feni, khaje (traditional jaggery coated snacks) as well as farmers producing the kola chilli (and provide intellectual property rights for the products)," the Chief Minister said.
"We have moved from the 7th position in the SDG (countrywide ranking) to the fourth position in 2020. The state is coming up with common processing clusters for paddy, vegetable, food processing, fruit, coir, chilli and jaggery," Sawant also said.
On the occasion of Bhagat Kabir Ji Jayanti, the Chief Minister also announced that his government will soon disburse Rs 560 crore to the landless farm labourers under the Debt Waiver Scheme.
Custom officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here have seized 80 iPhones from two passengers arriving from Sharjah. They found the iPhones worth over Rs 1 crore while checking the luggage of the two passengers who had arrived by flight G9-458 on Wednesday.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday approved Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) to operate the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport in the adjoining Thane-Raigad region, an official said here.
The session ensued a detailed discussion about the rising air pollution as well as the steps that need to be taken up by authorities as well as the community to manage the deteriorating air quality.
After Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met the party panel on the state in the national capital on Tuesday, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has stepped in to defuse the tension in the state unit. Gandhi has given utmost importance to the state, meeting stake holders who have sought time from him, said sources.
The Delhi police have arrested two men for breaking into a bank in Shahdara area and fleeing with nearly Rs 55 lakh, officials said. Police have also recovered hammer, chisel, and helmets from their possession.
