Panaji: The state government will acquire around 2 lakh square metres of Goa University land on the Taleigao plateau to develop a common campus for five colleges, with the new Goa College of Pharmacy and Goa College of Architecture targeted for completion by next year, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.
Replying to the discussion on Goa Appropriation Bill, 2026, on the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2026-27, Sawant said the government has made a budget provision of Rs 42 crore for the two institutions. The overall common campus, he said, would require an investment of around Rs 200 crore.
“We are focusing on infrastructure considering the future of our youth and providing them with the best infrastructure,” Sawant said, adding that the government has also made a budgetary provision for an ESI medical college in South Goa.
The Chief Minister said strengthening educational infrastructure was being accompanied by efforts to equip students for emerging industries.
Schools and colleges are being provided exposure to coding, robotics, innovation laboratories and incubation centres, while MoUs with universities are being signed to ensure students develop opportunities beyond government employment.
“Coding and robotics promotion has helped students show interest in the IT sector,” he said, adding that Goa’s new AI policy would benefit students in the long run.
Sawant said medical seat capacity had been increased from 200 to 250, alongside a world-class lecture hall aimed at creating a futuristic learning environment for medical students.
Emphasising employment, he said more than 5,000 school dropouts had been given jobs through the Goa Human Resource Development Corporation, while reforms were being undertaken to increase employment of Goan youth in industries operating in the state. “There are opportunities in Goa. No youth should remain unemployed,” Sawant said, asserting that large-scale job creation was expected in both, the private and government sectors.
On finances, Sawant said prudent management had allowed the government to continue development works and social-security benefit disbursements without borrowing during the past six months. He said the state’s credit limit for the next six months stood at Rs 4,000 crore.
The House passed supplementary demands totalling Rs 1,061 crore, comprising approximately Rs 583 crore in capital expenditure and Rs 477 crore in revenue expenditure, including allocations under central schemes. Sawant said that the additional expenditure had been provided for without creating a fund deficit for any department.
