Having lost nearly ten years in the digital race in India, Goa has tried to salvage the lost time by giving attention to the ever growing demands of the Information and Technology sector in the State. Even though the State government has sanctioned a budget of Rs 12 crore to take forward their four month-old Investment and IT policy, the path to take the State into the IT map of India will be a task to reckon with. In sync with the Central government’s Start-up India, Stand-up India campaign, Goa eyes its new opportunity in the already set-up over 220 start-ups in the State.
Physical age and technological excellence can never have a co-relation. At the outset, the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) of Goa has been able to overcome its primary challenge by understanding that an idea can emerge at any stage, any age and anywhere. The task ahead is to ensure that industry and academia collaboration is established firmly in line with the policy. It is also time for the Education Department to look into the curriculum provided in schools. Studying simple microsoft word, excel, powerpoint etc may not help students to compete with modern technological development. A task-force to link the education system with the industry requirement is the need of the hour.
Also, the linkages between available manpower and industry-ready skill sets need immediate attention to set the ball rolling. With the rapid growth of the digital world, the State needs to encourage and promote applications which are nextgen centric such as 3D printing, Internet of Things (IoT), Drone technology, Cloud adaptation, etc. For this, it becomes almost mandatory for the State to interact, involve and invite the big ticket international companies to set-up innovative laboratories and shops in Goa.
Incubators and accelerators for handholding start-ups is another area where DoIT needs to pay attention. Building of mentorship for the start-ups; providing technological and infrastructural support; and finally, provide an expert who can translate these created virtual assets of idea into financial parameters for obtaining bank loans. To make this dream a reality, the State still needs to impart more clarity with regard to start-ups and hence, requires a more dynamic start-up policy.
With budget in place for the DoIT for the first time in the history, the effort must be undertaken by the Department to improve upon the eco-system. With the setting up of new IIT and NIT, as specified in the Goa Budget in mid-March this year, the Department would surely realise that these educational institutes can act as major feeder resources for the IT sector in the State and hence the curriculum should be synergised with the requirement in the industry. To focus on development of intellectual property, the protection and patenting of the intellectual properties generated in Goa, must be safeguarded to build confidence amongst researchers and start-ups.
Hardware sector in the industry requires drastic improvement to catch up with States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, just to name the few. Even though the State is visited by huge numbers of foreign tourists, connectivity is a major issue in Goa. Since there are protests over installation of mobile towers in the State, the service providers have been throwing their arms up and are expressing their helplessness in improving the oscillating signals across the State. Some private operators have recently taken up this mantle of informing and updating the protestors that installation of towers covers all health related parameters subscribed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Workshops, live demonstration before the protestors is paying heed as transparency shown by these private operators is certainly helping them gain faith towards safe usage of technology. The path is difficult but not impossible if there is a focus and intention to improve upon.
