MANGIRISH SALELKAR: People ask me ‘Have we missed the bus?’ I say no, I do not think so. We only boarded it late. The story began almost 15-20 years back when there were attempts to make policies and build the eco-systems. We were seeing IT professionals passing out from the engineering colleges but the government could not see the numbers. We as separate companies have to cater to them, we have to help them, this is what government needs to know. But 2015 onwards things started to move and IT policy got notified in 2016. We were all happy with it but it did not get in motion and it did not take off. The IT minister now is quiet focused. He knows what he wants and he knows what he has to do for the industry.
HCN: Recently the IT minister as well as the IT Director talked about partnership with GTA. Your reaction.
MS: We have got almost 100 IT companies who are connected with GTA. We will see to it that we do not disappoint these people. And when we have this commitment to these companies, I am sure government knows that we are well connected and hence they expect some support from us to give them some data to understand the eco-system. They expect us to get in touch with the start-ups and IT companies. I think that any budding entrepreneur should get infrastructure. People have expectations of at least three things — roti, kapda, makaan. We expect high band-width Internet connectivity for the companies. Secondly, we expect a good talent resource pool ready to hire and third a good infrastructure to settle in.
HCN: What are the issues plaguing growth in IT sector?
MS: GTA is currently working with academia. We are trying to see to it that we create industry ready resources by the end of an engineering course. It is we who will benefit and also the government as more employment will be generated within Goa. So they are helping us out for the employment part and we are getting the needful support from the government as far as giving us good Internet connection.
HCN: What is your target for employment in IT sector, specially when we have around 2600 students passing out every year?
MS: Right figures would be 1800 of all the IT professionals passing out. IT professions would be engineers, could be BSC,BCA graduates, vocational IT diploma holders etc.Out of this only 450 are engineers. These engineers have to look at Goa as a focus area to get jobs. They should not simply run outside Goa for jobs because I think the Goan companies have the potential to absorb this supply. We also struggle to get good resources and there is a gap here. Are you industry ready, is the question.
HCN: What was the need for formation of Goa Technology Association?
MS: Firstly, the journey to form GTA was not easy. We have struggled for almost four to five years to get this group together. Several attempts were made. It started off when some new incubation centers were coming up in Goa. There were a lot of start-up community meetings on Fridays and Saturdays. So we started capturing the data and tried to connect the dots. When I say dots,I mean that all these companies worked in islands and they were never connected. Today they are connected under one roof of GTA. The Association was formed in a very systematic and democratic manner. It all began with small meets, pub parties, cricket matches and so on and cricket was just an excuse to get all these people together. I could see that everybody wants to come together and work together, join hands and grow this eco-system and there was a need for it.
HCN: So what are the benefits after the formation of GTA?
MS: We have one face, one voice. Earlier, we were individuals who did not know what to expect from the government and how to work together. GTA will be a channel between the government and the industry. We will also look at forums like Nasscom, STPI who have extended support to this industry through GTA . We are also working with academia. There were a lot of questions raised by seasoned people who have been struggling much before I started off my entrepreneurship journey. GTA will strive to bring Goa on the world’s IT map.
HCN: What efforts are you making for students who are passing out to be industry ready?
MS: I think we need to revolutionise the education sector itself. When I say that, I mean that there should be a big change in the curriculum. The curriculum which we are following now is drafted at least a decade ago. Technology changes so fast that we cannot match up the pace at what the colleges are teaching and what we are expecting out of the students. That is the same reason why we have to train the young recruits for another 4 or 5 months to make them industry ready. I cannot expect this person to be industry ready because it is not his fault and it is actually the education system’s fault. I think we need to change it. And it’s great that now under GTA banner there will be attempts made. If you compare a Goan fresher to a fresher passing out from Pune, Hyderabad or Bangaluru, I would say it is massive difference. Because they know how to enter into a company, how to sit for an interview, how to assess themselves while they are working and so on.
