Team Herald
An attempt to appraise investors of investment opportunities, processes and policies in Goa was made yesterday during a prelude to the Goa Investment Summit which will be held in November this year. The Chief Minister, the Union Defence Minister and industry captains from the state and the western region were present.
Key insights into streamlined development of industry facilitated by world class infrastructure and skilled personnel were shared at the forum. The knowledge sessions were opened by Amber Dubey, Partner, KPMG in India who highlighted the suitability of Goa as an investment destination.
The Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board (IPFB) has been designed as a single window entity for investment in the state and consists of both the Government and industry stakeholders. The Board is tasked with handling the entire investment life cycle- promoting investment in Goa, facilitating setting up of industry in the state and ensuring ease of doing business in Goa.
The procedural aspects of investing in Goa through a streamlined IT enabled process by the Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board were covered in this session.
The Defence Minister of India, Manohar Parrikar shared his views on developing Goa as an investment destination. The challenge of matching aspirations, skills and employment in the country is a tough one.
Explaining the importance of a conducive climate for investment’s to flow into Goa, he stressed on the importance of developing infrastructure while taking cognizance of the environmentally sensitive nature of the Goan landscape. He also expressed the need to setup knowledge centric industries and to garner local talent and prevent the ongoing brain drain from the state. While responding to queries from the audience, the Defence Minister encouraged investors to ‘Make in Goa’.
The Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar shared that Goa has been adjudged as the best state for doing business and the Government of Goa had big plans for encouraging investment in the state.
He mentioned that the industrial growth would need to be in sync with the environmental, ecological, social and cultural fabric of Goa. He pointed out that industrial growth would result in more employment for the Goan youth.
