Former Goa Speaker and senior BJP functionary Rajendra Arlekar has been appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh.
Arlekar, a commerce graduate, has been associated with RSS since his childhood. He had worked closely with former Goa Chief Minister and Union Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar in building Bharatiya Janata Party in the state. Arlekar is also a core committee member of BJP in Goa.
Arlekar contested his first Assembly Elections in 2002 from the Vasco da Gama constituency, and won. In 2012, he was elected from Pernem constituency.
Arlekar said that BJP is a party that believes in its leaders, adding that the President, Prime Minister, Home Minister, and the party had faith in him.
“I started as a party worker, became MLA and state minister and state BJP chief. Now I am Governor. It shows the importance of leaders and leadership in BJP,” Arlekar said.
P S Sreedharan Pillai appointed new Governor of Goa
S. Sreedharan Pillai was appointed as the new Governor of Goa and sworn-in at Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula. Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Justice Dipankar Datta administered the oath of office to the new Governor.
Pillai was serving as Governor of Mizoram before being transferred to Goa. He has previously served as the president of the Kerala BJP state unit.
A lawyer by profession, Pillai graduated in 1978 from Government Law College, Calicut.
Governor Pillai has also been a prolific writer, with over 120 published books to his name. Writing both in English and Malayalam, Pillai has spanned across multitudinous subjects and themes which include law, politics, literature, sociology, and culture.
Shripad Naik appointed Minister of State for Tourism; Port, Shipping and Waterways
Following the Union cabinet reshuffle, five-time North Goa Member of Parliament and Union Minister Shripad Naik has been given new portfolios, including Minister of State for Tourism; and Port, Shipping and Waterways.
Naik stated that the assigning of the tourism portfolio will definitely benefit the sector in Goa and that his ministry will work towards promoting medical tourism in the state, and also try to get new tourism projects.
For the past seven years, Naik was the Minister of State with independent charge of the Ayush Ministry. He was the first Ayush Minister after the portfolio was formed in 2014 under the Narendra Modi-led government. In 2019, he was also appointed as Minister of State for Defence. Naik has represented the North Goa parliamentary seat since 1999. He first became Union Minister of State in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led coalition government and has held various portfolios from finance to civil aviation.
Anirudha Borkar is president of ILA Goa
Adv Anirudha Sinai Borkar has been elected president of Indian Lawyers Association (ILA), Goa Chapter. Borkar has been in practice for nearly two decades. “ILA aims to provide lawyers and law students across the country a platform for networking and professional development opportunies, as well as to develop a network of pro bono services. We presently have 400 chapters across India and are growing fast. As President of the Goa Chapter, I encourage lawyers in Goa, especially the younger members of the bar, to avail of the opportunities for networking and mentoring which a huge organization like this has to offer,” he said.
Aakash Khaunte is President of EO Goa
Aakash Khaunte has taken over as President of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (Goa).
EO is a peer-to-peer organisation for exchange of business ideas and networking. Aakash, who is director of Alcon Anil Counto Enterprise, takes over from Anirudh Agarwal.
Speaking on the sidelines of his appointment, Aakash feels that the pandemic has brought in unprecedented challenges in the entrepreneurial space and that EO Goa is poised to navigate the choppy waters with strong and sustainable business ideas.
Alcon Anil Counto Enterprise has diversified business interests spanning from real estate to hospitality and automobile dealerships to manufacturing of Ready Mix Concrete, besides other business ventures.
