Khaunte Links Workplace Standards to State’s Global Brand at Safety Summit Finale
BAMBOLIM: Goa must market workplace safety with the same aggression it markets its beaches if it wants to be a global investment and tourism destination, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said on Thursday at the closing ceremony of the Goa Occupational Safety and Health Expo & Summit 2026. Speaking at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Bambolim, Khaunte argued that a reputation for safe factories, hotels, and construction sites directly impacts how the world sees Goa as a place to visit, work, and invest. The two-day summit, themed “Shaping the Future of Workplace Safety”, was organized by the Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers and brought together industry, regulators, and safety-tech firms under one roof.
Factories and Boilers Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar said the department would move from “inspection to intervention” by digitizing compliance and mandating safety audits for all units employing over 50 workers. He added that Goa’s industrial growth cannot come at the cost of worker lives and cited the need for real-time monitoring of boilers and hazardous processes. Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade noted that Parliament’s new Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code would push states to adopt uniform standards, and Goa should aim to be a “model state” before 2027. Secretary for Factories & Boilers Sanjiv Gadkar, IAS, told delegates that the state would launch a single-window safety clearance portal within six months to cut red tape without diluting norms. Chief Inspector Anant Pangam said the expo saw 42 exhibitors demonstrate AI-based PPE detection, drone-based boiler inspection, and VR training modules for high-risk jobs. Over 800 plant heads, safety officers, and contractors attended the summit. Khaunte drew a direct line between tourism and industrial safety, saying international charter companies and IT investors now audit destination safety metrics before signing contracts. “A hotel fire or a factory accident trends globally in minutes. Safety is brand Goa,” he said, urging hotels, shipyards, and pharma units to treat safety spend as marketing spend. He announced that the Tourism Department would co-fund safety certification for small hotels and shacks employing seasonal workers. Halarnkar and Khaunte jointly felicitated companies with zero-accident records for 2025-26.
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