Goa’s Investment Promotion Board taking shape

PANJIM: The state’s move to attract investment and correspondingly generate employment is gaining pace with the process to select senior personnel gaining pace. Applications have been received for the post of the CEO of the Investment Promotion Board. It is expected that the selected candidate will be taking charge by January 10 at the latest.

Speaking to the Herald, a person who is aware of the developments said that applications had been received from candidates within the state and outside. With regards to the profile of the applications he said that there were applications from senior professionals in the marketing, accounts and Hr streams of various corporates.  The interviews are expected to commence by December 20.  The ideal candidate he said would be a post graduate with 10-12 years experience. The selected candidate is expected to earn Rs 24 lakhs per annum.  The selection of the candidate will be undertaken by a three member committee which will include the senior executive of GCCI, CII and GSIA.  The selected candidate would have to go around the country presenting the benefits present in investing in the state. If a candidate with the right credential is not found then this exercise will be conducted again. This may happen considering the fact that according to a senior corporate executive the resumes received do not fit the profile. 

He said “Several junior and mid level executives have applied for the post, people who lack the gravitas required for such a post.”

The source said that a decision would also be made on the selection of the external consultancy that would be responsible for whetting the various proposals the state would receive from interested parties. 

KPMG, he said was involved in the process so far and they could be shortlisted or for that matter someone else. That decision would be made by the CEO.   

As the state prepares itself for perhaps a more professional approach to attracting investment, it has already received letters of interest from parties keen on investing in the state.  Two of the proposals, the source revealed were tourism related.  Another source who was in the know claimed that approximately Rs 250 crore were of projects in the pipeline.  

The objective of this investment policy is to create 50,000 jobs in the next five years and facilitate Rs 25,000 crore of new investment into Goa in the next five years. 

The government will provide high quality logistics infrastructure to industries, 24*7 high-quality power supply and quality core infrastructure to industries and more importantly use innovative and socially acceptable mechanisms to make land available for industry. 

The government would set up an Investment Promotion Board and bringing clarity to roles and responsibilities of Goa IDC, EDC, DITC¸GEDC and GTDC.  The government promised to make the entire process of setting up operations in Goa very transparent and the IPB is the government arm being set up to ensure it happens.

This IPB will approve or reject all investment proposals, draft approval process, guidelines and standard operating procedures for new investments. It will review and modify these processes on an ongoing basis. Appoint and manage the satellite expert consultant, facilitate approvals for investors to set up their units in Goa, promote the state as a investment destination nationally and internationally, provide feedback and suggest interventions to the Government of Goa on investment climate and policy and regulatory environment on an ongoing basis. 

It would also identify infrastructure gaps hindering investment growth in Goa on an ongoing basis and suggest  short, medium and long-term rolling plans to the Government to bridge the gaps. More importantly it would also provide dispute and grievance redressal for investors. This board would be a fully empowered statutory entity with budgetary provisions, headed by a full-time CEO and supported by a dedicated team.  

The Board will be non-executive and include 9 members from industry, the Chief Minister of Goa as Chairperson of the Board, and the Industries Minister and the Tourism Minister as Joint Vice-Chairpersons. The Board will meet on a fortnightly basis.

It will be hoped that when Goa enters the new year it will be with a team in place focussed on attracting investment that will someday total Rs 25,000 crore.