Industry expectations from State Budget

Budget is primarily an instrument which translates organisations’ plans and actions in money terms. So when someone asks about industry expectations from the State Government’s budget, it simply means the areas the industry wants the government to focus on to ensure its sustenance and growth.

This I believe boils down to basically Infrastructure and Ease of doing business followed by opportunities for growth and improved competitiveness. Let’s get into each one of these to identify specific action areas. Not all may require money to be spent, but decisions to be taken.

Roads: Government has already taken substantial actions on this front. Few stretches of road around some of the industrial estates like Sancoale etc need to be included in the list of priorities. 

However if specification of roads is changed to include trenches for pipes and cables alongside it will minimize inconveniences faced due to digging and redigging of roads not only by industry but every citizen. 

Water: At this point of time this is not as acute an issue as ‘quality power’. Use of raw water as is being tried in Verna Industrial Estate is a welcome step. But the price of water charged to industries requires to be looked into. 

Power: This is one area we would definitely like government to be futuristic and provide for independent 110kva substations for industries at least at four places in Goa. They could be located between Verna and Ponda; Pilerne and Tuem; Bicholim and Pissurlem and Margao and Canacona. Of course these can be done in phases with at least first two of them being set up in this year’s budget. Along with these a provision needs to be made for underground cabling in all industrial estates to improve the quality of power. Budget provisions need to be made for industrial estates. 

Telecommunication and Data: Industry infrastructure in todays world is no more restricted to the above basic needs but has to consider high speed data communication which needs to be facilitated. It is even more crucial for IT industry and requires a very focused attention. 

While this may seem to be a non-budgetary activity it cannot come to reality without departments going digital and some of the incompetent and regulatory mindset staff moving over to give entry to fresh blood. 

We are already seeing a huge difference in departments where this has already taken place. Budgetary provision will have to be made for voluntary retirement schemes besides digitization.

Growth of local businesses will ultimately give rise to employment. I believe government needs to be proactive and ensure that vendors for large government projects are Goan SME’s. Budgetary provision will have to be done to incentivize the contract or to source locally may be through reimbursement of part SGST. Same treatment needs to be extended to regular purchase of government departments or at least strengthen the preferential purchase scheme. 

If industries can reduce their cost of finance through focused capital and interest subsidies and improving quality systems and processes they will be able to be more competitive and take their business beyond Goan boundaries, budgetary provisions need to be made for schemes to facilitate these. I believe this is already on the cards.

Encouraging exports through participation in overseas trade fairs, providing common services like ware house, survey etc. in specific countries and for specific products would be a good booster to progressive SME’s in the State.

Just like the government, progressive industries would also prefer to employ Goans. To facilitate this the youth will have to be skilled to improve productivity. 

Suitable provisions needs to be made to establish a focused cell besides cost of training and skilling the youth.