Investment Promotion Board (IPB) is eagerly awaiting for the lifting of Code of Conduct so that it can hire more people to bolster their staff. The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President recently met the Chief Minister and had raised the issue that IPB should be made a single window clearance system rather than becoming an additional window.
Earlier, the State had a High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) which was dissolved to form an IPB but is it working as a single window system? Industry believes it is not happening as an entrepreneur still has to visit each and every department to get their necessary clearances. Also, Goa in the recent past has slipped below in the “Ease of Doing Business” ratings in the country.
IPB was mandated by the state government in 2014 that in next five years, which is by 2019 the IPB should be able to create 50,000 jobs, facilitating Rs 25,000 crore worth of new investments till 2019, providing high quality logistics and infrastructure to the industries, providing 24X7 high-quality power supply and quality core infrastructure to industries, using innovative and socially acceptable mechanisms to make land available for industrial development, setting up an Investment Promotion Board and bringing clarity to roles and responsibilities of Goa IDC, EDC, DITC¸GEDC, ITG, GTDC, etc, apart from several other things which was expected from IPB to deliver. But, can it deliver? Does it have the basic staff to work on this mandate? Unfortunately with ailing ex-Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar, the drive to take this organisation forward was also lost.
During the recent meeting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the GCCI has requested him to fine tune the IPB and ensure that it has the required staff to work so that the investment in the State could be brought in and also help the IPB to hand-hold the entrepreneur till it rolls out its production. With skeleton staff all the above task seems humungous and is not possible. In fact, IBP is already prepared to hire people but it is waiting for the Code of Conduct to be lifted after election. Even to market Goa outside the state, one would require experts like Investment Officers and senior people to drag attention of the investors and entrepreneurs towards Goa.
In fact, as suggested by GCCI President, Mr Sandip Bhandare, for better management and monitoring, an Investment Commissioner should be appointed by the Industry Minister and in this case the Chief Minister. This concept has worked in foreign countries, specially United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations. If not, then the decisions on any project which is keen to come to Goa must be taken within a stipulated period of time and not kept hanging.
Land is another issue which plagues industry as the State of Goa is small and it is under the Goa IDC and IPB has a very less role to play in such matters. This problem can be sorted out if there are nodal officers of IDC, IPB, Finance and other departments remain a permanent invitee to all important meetings as it will lead to transparency and information gathering. This can only be done if there is an Investment Commissioner which can look after all such matters who can be supervised by the Industry Minister or the Chief Minister.
Telangana is an example right before us when a minister KT Rama Rao delivered a less than six minutes speech before the Apple Global CEO and convinced them to establish shop at Hyderabad. “In Principle sanction” a phrase used by politicians and bureaucrats while dealing an investment project has virtually no value and it does not help the investor or an entrepreneur. What he wants is speedy clearances, land, water, power and hand-holding from the host government till the first day of production.
