Business and industry always look forward to stability in government and governance. Any knee jerk decisions by means of pressure or political uncertainty, lead to creation of nervous sentiments in the industry as it not only boils down to time, effort and money but also hampers continuity.
Manguirish Pai Raiker, former president, Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and chairman of the National MSME Council said, “The present leadership looks to be decisive and wants to speed up the works to bridge the lost time and opportunity. The Industry, trade and commerce of which majority is small and medium establishments are looking forward to improved infrastructure and better outlook in the new policies which are in the pipeline. The industry stakeholders should be taken into confidence so that their aspirations and requirements can be taken care of. Goa needs to take a leap in order to achieve the growth and also help generate employment.”
Raiker added that the current status is hardly anything to cheer about which in the absence of proper leadership had failed to give a direction. No investments worth the name have materialised. “There was lot of scope to promote various sectors of trade and commerce. Even those planned works and those visionary programs promoted by the Centre could not take of due to apathy from the establishment or due to the objections coming from NGO’s which most of the times had no reason or logic. A strong government, we feel, would be able to take bold decisions and drive the initiatives in a disciplined manner. We sincerely hope and pray that this government will deliver and fulfill the desires of the people, especially the youths who are looking forward with expectations so that they do not have to leave the state for their future prospects,” said Raiker.
President of the GCCI, Manoj Caculo who refrained from commenting on political developments, said, “Since Vishwajit Rane continues to hold the Industry portfolio, we are confident he will keep up to his commitment of Core Committee involvement in major decision-making and solving Industry problems. As regards IT, since we have a new minister, we hope the same good work initiated by outgoing minister will be taken forward. As any change in direction will take us back a few notches which we can ill afford.”
President of the Goa Technology Association (GTA), Mangirish Salelkar believes that while we were trying to get onboard the bus to increase the growth of the IT industry and match the pace of the neighbouring upcoming IT hubs, we are here with surprises. “On technology front, IT companies in Goa are apt on providing and delivering all types of sophisticated solutions. Government has to consider Goan companies for the same may it be taxi apps, administration software or any web solutions,” said Salelkar.
“However, if the Chief Minister has allotted Mrs Moserratte with the IT ministry, I am sure it has been done with lot of consideration. Personally, I have not met her but am sure she has to set her path for progress along with the stakeholders of the ecosystem. While lots of plans are in process, she will have to meet and go beyond the expectations of the industry. Now that the IT-Startup Policy is notified, the department will have to speed up with the registrations and rolling out schemes to the Goan companies,” added Salelkar.
Immediate past president of GCCI, Sandip Bhandare is of the opinion that it has been only a short time since the new Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has taken over.
“With the latest political developments, the Chief Minister has almost 2/3rd majority and with the stability of the government, it is time for him to concentrate on the issues that Goa faces on general and on industrial front. As a past President of GCCI, I expect that he will strengthen the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) and make it a one stop window for all the regulatory provisions. He has to also ensure that IPB has an outward orientation and focuses on bringing investments to Goa so that local employment is created. By appointing a dedicated minister for industries, the Chief Minister has made it clear the importance that he attaches to the Industry. This should be followed by budget proposals to ensure that industrial infrastructure gets substantial funding,” said Bhandare.
Bhandare raised the issue of distribution of water and power to the industrial estates a major challenge which needs huge investments. “Apart from this, availability of the land which IDC has recently acquired from erstwhile SEZ promoters will make the CM’s task easier to make the land available for expansion as well as setting up of new industries. All in all, I feel there is no better time than today for the CM and the Industries Minister to direct their energies to the development of Industries in Goa,” Bhandare added.
President of the Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) and Verna Industries Association (VIA), Damodar Kochkar said, “Now we have a single party majority, more stable and strong government with a dynamic Industry minister, Vishwajit Rane who has impressed the industries with his intentions and actions to sort out industry issues, we at GSIA are hoping to see the ‘Real Ease of doing business’ for the industry in Goa.”