NRI entrepreneur Dr Shamsheer Vayalil announces Rs 1 crore reward for Kerala if they win Santosh Trophy

News Network

May 2, 2022

UAE-based Indian entrepreneur Dr Shamsheer Vayalil has announced a hefty cash award if his native state of Kerala wins the Santosh Trophy, a prestigious football tournament in India.

Dr Shamsheer, chairman and managing director of VPS Healthcare, tweeted that he will offer Kerala football team a cash prize of Rs1 crore (more than Dh480,000) if they lift the trophy.

Kerala is set to meet heavyweights West Bengal in a highly anticipated contest at the Manjeri Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram district of Kerala today evening.

Dr Shamsheer, a sports enthusiast, is hoping the announcement would be a morale booster for the Kerala team, looking to win their seventh title.

“As a fellow Malayali, it’s heartening to watch Kerala playing the final of the Santosh Trophy. The team has displayed fantastic performances throughout the tournament. I hope they will be able to lift one of the most coveted trophies in Indian football,” said Dr Shamsheer.

The match between the two Indian powerhouses: Kerala and West Bengal is expected to be a high-octane clash. In the group stages of the tournament, Kerala had defeated West Bengal 2-0.

However, 32-times champion West Bengal are looking to avenge their 2017 final loss to Kerala at the Salt Lake Stadium, when they were defeated in the tiebreakers.

Earlier, Dr Shamsheer had earlier given a cash prize of Rs1 crore to the Indian hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, who hails from Kerala and played a key role in India winning the historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Why Mangaluru Could Become India’s Next Offshore Wind Energy Hub

News Network

February 3,2026

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.

Comments