Panaji: 

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday presented a revenue surplus budget in the Goa assembly, providing tax incentives for tourism entrepreneurs setting up starred hotels in rural areas and full SGST reimbursement for the first 5 years for industries investing more than Rs 5,000 crore.

The Goa budget has earmarked Rs 2,100 crore for the education sector and made it compulsory for students in the state to undergo internships to complete their graduation courses.

The budget projected GSDP at current prices for 2025-26 at Rs 1,38,624.86 crore with a growth rate of 14.27 per cent. It projected Goa's per capita income of Rs 9.69 lakh, portraying a robust and healthy economy. Sawant announced that internship will be a mandatory part of graduation for students from the upcoming academic year (June 2025).

While earmarking Rs 2,100 crore for the education sector, Sawant announced several new initiatives, including the internship which will be implemented phase-wise in different colleges from the upcoming academic year. The coastal state will have a 100 per cent literacy target in the next financial year, which is one of the important aspects of sustainable development goals, as per the budget.

As part of the CM skill development scheme, the budget has announced an accessory kit of Rs 20,000 for students studying apparels, home furnishing, beauty and wellness, agriculture and automobile courses under the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) in the higher secondaries.

Sawant has also earmarked Rs 19.91 crore for coding and robotics education under the flagship CM-CARES (coding and robotics education in schools) scheme. Under the scheme, two centres of excellence would be established along with proctored test centres in all the 12 talukas of the state, he said.

The chief minister also announced one laptop each in every class of government middle schools and upgradation of the computer laboratories in these institutions as a part of e-learning.

He also said the building repairs of all schools will be completed before the monsoon season with an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore.

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