Following the meeting of the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) this week, Industries Minister Vishwajit Rane tweeted that the board had deliberated on forming a committee to draft an Industrial Policy which will augment industrial production and industrial growth and that the aim was to create one of the finest policies in the country to make Goa an industrial hub. At the same meeting the board cleared a logistics park and an entertainment city, besides other projects. But, will making Goa an industrial hub be a possibility or is the minister merely making a tall claim? The scarcity of land for industrial development will never allow Goa to develop into an industrial hub, which means that the industrial policy should focus on what can be met rather than what cannot. It has been a long delay.
On December 19, 2017, then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, speaking at the Liberation Day function, had announced that the cabinet had approved a new industrial policy, which would give incentives to industries that provide 80 per cent employment to locals. Speaking in the Assembly in August 2019, Rane had said that the government would finalise the State Investment and Industrial Policy approved by the Parrikar cabinet but that had not been notified. The plan was to seek suggestions and inputs from industrial stakeholders like Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI), Goa Small Industries Association (GSIA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and others that would be incorporated in the policy which would then be notified. The assurance made at that time was that before the next Assembly session, the industrial policy would have been finalised.
Goa requires an updated industrial policy. The last such policy was notified 18 years ago in 2003. A lot has changed since then in the State and across the world. In the meantime the State has developed other policies like the IT Policy and the Start-up Policy, both related to industry but micro in nature, for specific sectors in industry. Therefore, a forward-looking policy that encompasses the entire industrial sector is required to keep pace with the developments taking place.
There will be certain areas that the new industrial policy will have to focus on, and one of them is employment to the local youth. Parrikar’s aim of 80 per cent employment to locals would meet the approval of the people of Goa, but to achieve that the industry proposals cleared in the State would have to be geared to the education policies and courses available. Primarily, Goa would have to attract investment in sectors where its educated youth would be employable. Heavy industry and manufacturing is not what Goa can aim for, but it could well do with promoting the setting up of the service industry. The industrial policy currently being planned, should not make vague statements, but clearly focus on and create the environment for industry in which Goans would find gainful employment.
Another aspect to pay attention to would be the environment and keeping the State pollution free. Here there can be no compromise. If Goa has to keep industries that are land and labour intensive at bay, it has to also ensure that it does not attract industry that will be polluting. The policy would have to factor in the existing main employment generators – mining and tourism, and look for new industry that complements these two sectors. The service industry, therefore, would be the most suitable for the State as it is non-polluting and also provide suitable employment to the youth. Goa’s changing industrial scenario requires an industrial policy that would have cover the current scenario and project for the future. IPB has much to do if it wants a policy that is acceptable to all.
