The Goa State Photo Contest And Exhibition Scheme

What is the Goa State Photo Contest and Exhibition Scheme?

The Goa State Photo Contest and Exhibition Scheme-2014 is a scheme of the Department of Information and Publicity, Government of Goa, notified under No. DI/INF/Photo Contest/2014 and issued at Panaji on 1 January 2015, with the notification dated 19 February 2015. The scheme came into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

The Department introduced the scheme to encourage young talent in photography and photojournalism. The notification says the scheme is devised to encourage local youths, preferably of Goan origin, to begin exhibiting their talent in photography, and its stated objective is to encourage them to exhibit their talents, gain confidence and eventually set up their own venture for self employment.

The scope clause matters for entrants: the photographs submitted shall be used for exhibition and other publications of the Department and Government of Goa. Entering the contest therefore carries a departmental use of the work, which a professional photographer should factor in before submitting.

Who can enter the Goa State Photo Contest?

You can enter if:

• You are a resident of the State of Goa for at least 15 years prior to the application. The scheme gives preference to individuals born in Goa and resident for 15 years, but expressly says it does not bar others who meet the 15-year residence condition.
• You can produce a latest residence certificate, which the scheme's own explanation names as the required proof document.
• You shot the photographs yourself, and can certify that they are original work.
• You used a camera. The scheme states plainly that mobile images shall not be considered.

You cannot enter if:

• You are an employee of the Department of Information and Publicity. The scheme's eligibility clause excludes departmental employees from participating in the contest.
• You have not been resident in Goa for 15 years before the application.
• Your entry consists of mobile phone images, or of work not taken by you.

There is no entry fee, no age bar and no qualification requirement. A school student and a retired professional face the same rules.

How much prize money is on offer?

The scheme sets out cash prizes amounting to Rs 1,16,000 to be distributed among the winners and the best entries.

An amendment dated 23 October 2017, under Notification No. DI/INF/Photo Contest/2014/2929, fixed the honorarium for the three judges at Rs 5,000 each. That is a payment to the jury, not to entrants, but it is the one figure in the scheme that has been formally revised since 2015.

What are the entry rules?

The scheme is unusually specific about the physical form of an entry, and most disqualifications happen here rather than on eligibility.

• Two sections with two different subjects. The exhibition is run in two sections, and the subjects are announced with the contest notice.
• Colour prints in 12x13 size, and the entries must be mounted.
• A maximum of four different photographs in each section per entrant.
• A high-resolution soft copy must accompany the print.
• On the back of each print, in block letters: author's name, nationality, postal address, mobile number, telephone numbers and email address.
• Technical details such as the camera used must be sent with the entry.
• Mobile images are not considered.
• A brief of the photograph and a bio-data of the photographer, each not more than 100 words.
• A description of each photograph in not more than 50 words.
• A certificate of originality stating that all photographs are original work taken by the entrant personally.

How to apply for the Goa State Photo Contest and Exhibition

1. Watch for the annual contest notice from the Department of Information and Publicity, which announces the two subjects and the closing date for that year. The scheme text does not fix a permanent date; entries received after the announced closing date are not entertained.
2. Shoot with a camera, not a mobile phone, and keep the technical details of the camera used.
3. Get colour prints made in 12x13 size and mount them. Select at most four different photographs for each of the two sections.
4. Write the required details on the back of each print in block letters: name, nationality, postal address, mobile number, telephone numbers and email.
5. Prepare the written material: a brief of the photograph and your bio-data in not more than 100 words each, and a description of each photograph in not more than 50 words.
6. Enclose the certificate of originality stating that the photographs are your own original work, and your latest residence certificate.
7. Copy the images to a soft-copy medium in high resolution and include it with the package.
8. Superscribe the envelope with the words "Entries for The Goa State Photo Contest and Exhibition" and address it to the Director of Information and Publicity, 3rd Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Panaji, Goa, so that it reaches before the closing date.

How are winners decided?

Three judges assess the entries, and the amendment of 23 October 2017 fixes their honorarium at Rs 5,000 each. The scheme's interpretation clause states that if any question arises about the interpretation of the provisions, or any dispute about fulfilment of conditions, the decision of the Director of Information and Publicity shall be final and binding on all.

Common reasons an entry is rejected

• Late arrival. Entries received after the closing date are not entertained, and there is no discretion published for late entries.
• Mobile phone images. Explicitly excluded.
• Wrong print size or unmounted prints. The scheme specifies 12x13 colour prints, mounted.
• More than four photographs in a section.
• Missing details on the back of the print. Name, nationality, postal address, mobile number, telephone numbers and email in block letters are all required.
• No soft copy, or a low-resolution soft copy.
• No originality certificate, or no residence certificate.
• Entrant is a Department of Information and Publicity employee.

Where to get help or raise a grievance

The Department of Information and Publicity, Udyog Bhavan, 3rd Floor, Panaji, Goa 403001 administers the scheme. The department telephones are 0832-2223157, 0832-2422675 and 0832-2226047, the fax is 0832-2224211 and the email is dipgoa@gmail.com. The full text of the scheme, including the prize table and the entry conditions, is published as a PDF on the department's schemes page at dip.goa.gov.in.

There is no fee to enter and no agent involved. Entrants should keep their own copies of every photograph submitted, because prints sent in become part of the department's exhibition and publication material under the scope clause of the scheme.

How to check your entry and result status

The Goa State Photo Contest and Exhibition Scheme has no online portal, login, or tracking number, so there is no application-status dashboard to check the way there is for a subsidy or licence scheme. What an entrant can do instead:

1. Confirm receipt by phone or in person. Since entries travel by post or hand delivery to the Director of Information and Publicity, 3rd Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Panaji, Goa, the only way to confirm your package actually reached the department before the closing date is to call the department directly on 0832-2223157, 0832-2422675 or 0832-2226047, or to email dipgoa@gmail.com quoting your name and the date you sent the entry. Keep the courier or postal receipt as your own proof of dispatch date, because the department does not issue an acknowledgement for every entry received.
2. Watch for the exhibition and result announcement. The scheme is built around a public exhibition of the entries, so results are usually made known through that exhibition and through department announcements rather than through an individual status letter to each entrant. There is no fixed calendar date for this in the scheme text since it depends on that year's contest notice, so entrants should watch the same channel (the Department of Information and Publicity's schemes page on dip.goa.gov.in, and local press notices) that carried the original call for entries.
3. Follow up on non-return or damage of prints. Because submitted prints and soft copies become part of the department's exhibition and publication material under the scheme's scope clause, do not expect your physical prints back automatically. If you specifically want to know whether your prints were retained, exhibited, or can be collected, raise this by phone or email with the same department contacts rather than assuming silence means rejection.
4. Escalate a dispute through the Director. The scheme states that on any question of interpretation or dispute about whether an entrant met the conditions, the decision of the Director of Information and Publicity is final and binding. So the practical channel for a status dispute, such as a claim that a valid entry was overlooked, is a written representation to the Director's office at the Udyog Bhavan address, not an appeal to any other authority.

Since there is no per-entrant reference number issued at submission, always quote your full name, the section and subjects you entered under, and your postal address exactly as written on the back of your prints when you contact the department, so the staff can match your query to the physical entry.