First came Amazon and now Google. The Goa government, which only projected its tourism so far, has logged on to catch up with the world of information and technology (IT). The race began on December 31, 2015 when the government announced its IT and Investment Policy after nearly four unsuccessful bids.
Since then, in less than nine months of gestation period’, Goa has hosted top officials of giant IT-based companies like Amazon and Google. While Amazon showed keen interest in opening its office by early 2017 in Goa, Google lost no time to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Goa government to train about 80,000 students in government-run Goa schools on “how to be safe online”.
For the past fifteen years, even though talks on IT kept on buzzing in Goa, but it actually started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in 2016. Just setting up IT Parks and talking about internet and computers is not going to help an overall IT development. These are one of the elements which may lead to an IT revolution. In fact, to bring about this change, the entire eco-system needs to be laid in proper places at a rapid pace, as technology will not wait for skewed bureaucratic procedures. It requires and even compels policymakers to take decisions quickly and implement. This can only happen when the mid-level bureaucrats who are hardly specialists, are also kept in the loop and are well-trained.
They have to make themselves mandatorily adept with the ever moving and changing technology. Also, placed 19th in all India ranking in the list of “ease of doing business” does not augur well for state of Goa in the industrial map of India.
Despite all these unwanted and avoidable bottlenecks, Goa government has worked hard and with a neck breaking speed to bring about this `culture’ of IT in the state. However, lessons can be learnt from the newest state in India – Telangana, which is now pioneering in the field of IT by its dynamic and futuristic decisions, laying out a sugar bait for the IT companies to beeline. Recently Tim Cook the chief of Apple came loaded with goodies for Telangana and did set up an office in Hyderabad for its operation.
Opportunity for Goa government is at arms length distance as the IT minister from Telangana is expected in the state in the middle of this month. Surely, the discussion with the government of Goa will revolve around taking tips and guidance from him. During the same period, at least twenty CEOs of top IT companies in India will also be present in Goa to attend a roundtable conference. This can act as a catalyst to rev-up state’s already agile mood on IT front.
It will also be an opportunity for the state of Goa to catapault itself in the IT map of India, even further. Going by the recent past records in the field of IT development, the transactional leaders are trying to turn into transformational leaders which, for entire young IT community and stakeho,lders, is a welcome sign.
The government is contemplating to provide free data of one GB per month to Goan women, aged between 19-35. Surely the IT companies will come forward to lap up this opportunity which will help Goan young women become more IT savvy.
The zeal to get the bigwigs of the IT world to Goa for business and not only for tourism perhaps will fructify as the leadership of the state has been very candid on making Goa an “IT State”.
