A Rich past needs a people friendly future
Nitin Kunkolienkar
Though Goa leads on a number of counts such as education, GDP, health and standard of living, in many of the national surveys, there is no proper planning or direction for Goa’s growth. Earlier, agriculture, trading, tourism and mining were the chief commercial activities in Goa. In hinterland Goa, mining became the backbone of the economy. A lot of people got direct as well as indirect employment and it became another avenue for earning along with agriculture. Zuari, MRF, Ciba, and some of the local groups were some of the established industries in existence in Goa. Their immense contribution to the state cannot be ignored.
The emergence of Verna Industral Estate from 1988 as an electronic city made a huge difference to the state. Many Electronic units also started in Verna like DLink, Titan, Magic Electronics, Sparrow Tech, Siemens etc. GIDC though was set up much earlier it became very active after emergence of Verna Industrial Estate. In 1992, with the opening up of the economy and ushering of liberalization, Goa also benefited. Industry was granted a tax holiday u/s 80 IB of the Income Tax Act – 1961 in the 1993 budget.
Availability of land and labour, communal harmony, good law and order situation, peaceful labour and clean environment and the State’s emergence as a cheaper alternative to expensive and congested places like Mumbai spurred investment in Goa. The Planning Commission had then rated Goa as the second best state in India for investment. Today, Goa is among the largest pharma manufacturing locations in its industrial development. But along with pharma, a sizable number of steel units which were power guzzlers also set base in the state. Also Zinc, Copper, Cobalt manufacturing units started their base in Goa which should not have been allowed. But entire formation in the Government was going through a phase of building experience that this error took place. In 1994, the Thapar-Dupont Nylon 6.6 plant was vociferously opposed because Dupont had not taken adequate measures to ensure pollution control in Goa. Off late, people started to oppose the new projects and many agitations were seen in Goa like Nylon mentioned above, Meta Strips etc. They were more attributable to the environmental concerns. Three categories of people who are involved in agitations are people genuinely concerned who are thinking of betterment of Goa and Goan’s, people sadistic in nature who just go with the crowd and third category are people who agitate for their personal gains like for money, contracts etc. The cause of agitations are that people feel that new projects won’t benefit locals. This is due to the belief that of Goans that they are not a part of the state’s economic progress.
What has to be explained to people at the grass roots is how industry brings development and money. And include them as beneficiaries in development and growth growth In Goa, the benefit of improved infrastructure due to industrialization has also percolated down to the common man. Goa has a road length of 2245 km per 1000 sq.km of land compared to the national average of 730 km. The Konkan Railway commissioned in 1998 is a project of great public and commercial utility. It has not only saved time but also ensured tremendous savings on fuel, decongestion of Mumbai-Goa hilly terrain and is eco-friendly. It has facilitated the scope of trade & industry tremendously. The bottom line therefore, is to continue in the same direction but by making people the real beneficiaries of the state’s growth.
Nitin Kunkolienkar is known in business circles as Mr Industry. One of Goas most prominent pro industry voices, he will do a monthly audit of aspects of the Goan industry. He begins with a bit of the past. He is the Vice-President of Smartlink Network Systems Ltd, Vice Chairman of Economic Development Corporation ltd and the Immediate Past President of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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Managing Your Temper
Swapnil Kamat
As a training consultant, I meet hundreds of professionals every month across different parts of the country. During these interactions, I realized that a lot of participants voiced their inability to control their temper or emotions as a concern area. In business – what you say and what you do are the only two things that matter.
When we lose control over our temper, we end up saying and doing a lot of things that have an adverse affect on our business and, in turn, our careers. Once you say something, you can never take it back. Once you say something, it stays. Irrespective of whether you mean it or not – words once uttered cannot be taken back. Be careful of what you say when you are in a bad state of mind. One thing said could damage a relationship you built over years. Professionals usually lose their cool on people they believe they can afford to lose their cool on – like small customers, subordinates, etc. The manager blows his top on his team but will not do the same with his own boss since he knows the repercussions would be detrimental to his own career. That, by itself, is proof that all professionals can keep their calm and control their emotion even if they are seething from inside.
The difference between a good professional and a mediocre one is one’s ability to soak work pressure and not pass it on to the colleagues. This passing on of anger and frustration in business is called emotional leakage. Pass on the message, not the nasty words because it may not help the cause. The same is true while dealing with a customer. You could have had a tough interaction with one customer which could put you in a bad state of mind. But if you pass on those frustrations on to the next customer, you have created bad blood with both cusThe key to being a good professional is your ability to manage and control your temper by being totally conscious of your behavior. Irrespective of what the situation, learn to control your temper. Each person will have his own way of doing it, find yours. For some people it comes naturally. For others it does not. The easier thing to do is to let go and say the nasty thing. It will definitely make you feel better for the moment. But managing your temper will help you long term and lead to you making progress in your career.
Swapnil Kamat is one of India’s leading Training Consultants and heads Work Better India. Contact him at swapnil@workbetterindia.com.
