Cruise tourism push could boost employment in Goa
Panaji, June 21: Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari's recent push for promotion of cruise tourism could boost employment in the sector, the promoter of a Goa-based culinary training institute has said.
Addressing a press conference here, Parixit Pai Fondekar, who heads the American College of Culinary and Language Arts also said that an employment boom was expected in the cruise liner industry.
"The Central government's push to promote cruise tourism and the Mumbai-Goa-Bali cruise circuit proposed by Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari will really boost employment in the cruise tourism sector along the Western Coast," he told reporters.
The global luxury cruise line industry, he said, is one of the fastest growing sectors within the global hospitality industry and requires training and skilled employees.
He said that international luxury cruise line companies are looking towards India, Goa in particular, to meet its culinary requirement needs, adding that Goan culinary professionals account for a significant chunk of the Indian workforce in the industry.
"It is estimated that over the next five years, 950 cruise ships will enter the Goan waters," Fondekar said.
According to statistics of the Cruise Lines International Association, in 2017 Indian ports accounted for a total of 128 cruise ship calls only.
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Informing Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor was a crime: Rahul Gandhi on Jaishankar's 'admission'
New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.
In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.
"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.
Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"
"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.
Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025
EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.
1. Who authorised it?
2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW
