Revise laws, clarify approach to make Goa ideal business destination, says Goan industry

26 Business leaders brainstorm ways to make Goa ideal business destination

Goa: 26 Goan business leaders converged at the Taj Vivanta, Goa on Thursday, Jan 14, to etch Goa’s current state on ‘Ease of Doing Business’. Representing diverse sectors like pharma, IT, finance, telecom and mining, these leaders shared their thoughts with Goan Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and representatives from the state’s regulatory bodies.

Organised by the Goan chapter of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), the ‘High-level Round Table Deliberation on the Ease of Doing Business in Goa’ aimed at critiquing the current state of things. “With this project, we aim to compile suggestions which can lead to a positive impact on the state of ease of doing business here”, said Atul Pai Kane, Chairman & Managing Director at Power Engineering (India) Pvt Ltd.

“Apart from FDI, Goa has immense opportunity in enabling migration of businesses from other states. It does this by providing them with strategic advantages that they may not find elsewhere”, he added.

CM Sawant, who had joined the discussions virtually, had listed the reforms his government had introduced to help new and existing businesses. “We welcome diverse companies to come and set up their businesses here by providing them with a single-window clearance system, tax holidays and GST rebates”, he said.

The group also highlighted existing challenges on Goa’s journey to become an ideal business destination. Despite best intentions, they felt the state needed to improve on the speed and efficiency of its existing processes for businesses. These included mechanisms for clearances and regulations, along with a straightforward approach towards legalities.

“Time and delay are the enemies of opportunity”, said Shardul S. Shroff, Executive Chairman, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, in context of hurdles for new and existing businesses.

 “Goa has tremendous potential to become an ideal destination for new businesses. However, it needs to establish clear, thought leadership and supportive policies which would create a friendly, efficient, constructive and transparent environment. Only then can it foster innovation and excellence across industries, education and infrastructure”, he added.

Secretary (Revenue) Sanjay Kumar, Manoj Patil on Special Duty (OSD) to CM, Principal Secretary (Finance) Puneet Kumar Goel and J Ashok Kumar, Secretary to the Chief Minister addressed queries from the 26 CEOs and IACC members in a discussion at the event. Deepak Bandekar, Directorate Of Industries, Trade And Commerce, Vandana Rao, CEO, Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board (Goa-IPB) and Derrick P. Neto, Managing Director for Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), also took part in discussions at the event.