VIKANT SAHAY
vikant@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Voices are being raised now by the information technology (IT) technocrats in Goa that state government, especially the IT department should outsource some of the IT related work and projects to Goan startups. If this actually happens, then there will be revenue generation for Goan companies and will encourage them to hire more which will generate employment and make them more sustainable, especially after the pandemic.
Speaking to Herald the Core Committee Official of Goa IT Professional (GITP) said that a significant percentage of Goan IT Industry has clientele across the globe. However, sadly when it comes to government tenders, they go to companies from outside Goa.
“Goa government must make conscious efforts to assign tenders of software development, website development, app development, IT hardware etc to local IT Industry. In fact, a specific percentage of government tenders must be allocated to Goan companies by making an amendment to this effect in the IT Policy and related Acts. This affirmation will ensure that the opportunity is not denied to deserving Goan entrepreneurs. With some customization, such e-governance solutions can be offered by the Goan entrepreneurs to other states across India, helping them further scale their own business and this in turn will give add-on revenue to the state,” the GITP official said.
He further went on to explain that the primary issue with government tenders is the inordinate delay in bill payments. For smaller fledgling companies this delay can be lethal. Hence special provisions need to be made to ensure that the payments are released on time. “If proactive steps like these are taken by the government now, number of entrepreneurs who are job creators and not job seekers will increase substantially. This in turn will help the state free itself from its extreme dependence on resource hogging industries like tourism and mining,” added the official.
Chairman of the IT and Start-Up Committee of the Goa Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Milind Prabhu is of the opinion that small scale IT services companies are facing the biggest brunt of the slowdown due to pandemic. While the companies would want to participate in the e governance projects, the tender terms makes it highly unlikely for start ups to get through the qualification criteria. “I would strongly recommend an empanelment process by the IT department that would directly qualify the start ups to bid for the projects. This would enable the departments to outsource some projects up to a certain specified amount with at least three quotations and go for the best accordingly,” said Milind Prabhu.
Vincent Toscano who is Managing Partner in an IT company Uzoorba Technologies based in Chorao island of Goa told Herald that, “Online presence of Goa government and its departments today is plagued with unsecured, poorly designed and maintained websites visible as a disgrace to the whole world. Most of these are done by companies from outside Goa. It’s a shame, given that Goa today has some high grade IT companies and startups who could do a far better job of it besides it giving a boost to the local IT ecosystem and generate local employment.”
Americo (Ricky) Noronha who is a Director of one of the Goa’s oldest start-up company, Online Productivity Solutions Pvt Ltd which is operational for 26 years and has around 90 employees said that, “Two years ago, Goan IT companies were asked to apply for empanelment with Goa Electronics (apex body handling IT implementations for government departments) and DOIT, to take up Goa government IT projects. We did that. But nothing happened. This year again there's a call for such an empanelment. Very strange and when we asked them what happened to the previous one, they seem to be totally unaware of it.”
Ricky Noronha further added that, “As a 100 per cent Goan owned and operated company we are always willing to help the government with the expertise we have. Yes, we are helping companies, governments and organisations across the globe from 1995. Maybe a prophet is never recognised in their hometown.” He went on to say that years back around 2000 they did some solutions for some government departments which were very well received. “They worked for many years and we supported them too. Since then, there has not been much work given to local Goan Companies. No idea why,” he said.
Secretary of Goa Technology Association (GTA) Rohan Warty said that as a GTA initiative we have been in dialogue with the authorities to consider local companies for government projects. Goa has many companies that are delivering quality work and are capable of handling such projects. As an association, we have already done an internal survey comprising details about services provided by our member companies.
“Introduction of such initiatives by the government can even help those IT companies which have taken a hit due to the pandemic to bounce back and boost employment opportunities for the Goans as well. GTA has always been encouraging the development of IT sector in Goa and we are ready to be a catalyst and support government in identifying the right talent within Goa,” said Rohan Warty.
Founder and CEO of Coderix, Rohir R Naik told Herald that, “Outsourcing IT-related work and projects to the local Goan companies will help in employment generation, development of IT infrastructure, and higher revenue within state. Goa has a good number of IT firms and start ups with excellent achievements, qualities, and technical skill sets that are currently not being exploited. The Goa government should outsource its IT-related work and projects to the local Goan companies without any doubt as this would also help them in reducing costs.”