Goa must have a blueprint for industrial growth in place and focus on wooing business enterprise. Efforts on this count till now have been half-hearted
Goa's 24th place among the States in the ease of doing annual business ranking of states and Union Territories announced by the Centre goes to show how the State has failed miserably. At a time when the State's economy is precariously placed with Covid-19 making it worse, boosting private industries and trade could help in revival plans. This time, the rankings undertaken by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade gave 100 per cent weightage to 'user' feedback-based assessment.
Ease of doing business ranking is an index based on the completion percentage scores of action items points of annual Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) under the Make in India initiative. The exercise is aimed at triggering competition among states and improving the business climate to woo investors. Entrepreneurs were asked to narrate their experiences on mechanisms followed by States in 12 business regulatory areas such as land availability and allotment, labour regulation, construction permits, single window system, paying taxes, etc. While Goa would take a hit here, Uttar Pradesh scored high with its 'Nivesh Mitra' single window portal, outpacing states like Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. It has jumped ten notches to perch itself in the second position after having finished 12th in 2018. Andhra Pradesh has topped the ranking for the third time in a row. Goa has to take a cue from bigger States on business reforms.
Goa continues to be hit by red-tape and land issues, and government flattering to deceive time and again on the single-window clearance system. Lest we forget, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, while delivering a key-note address last year at the Vibrant Goa summit held at Bambolim previous year, had promised a roadmap in 30 days. Nothing has changed so far, and industries continue to face hurdles. Goa's ease of doing business index has been in the range of 17 and 21 in recent years. It was 19th last year, and this year it has plummeted even further down.
Goa must have a blueprint for industrial growth in place and focus on wooing business enterprise. Efforts on this count till now have been half-hearted. The report prepared by the Goa Institute of Management a couple of years back and the Investment Promotion Board's intervention has not fructified.
The Ease of Doing Business index is a cornerstone of efforts to attract new business and investment and cannot be overlooked. Goa has to take its score on the reform agenda points seriously and review its performance in the laid down parameters. The State's revival plans will revolve around industries since mining, the primary revenue-churner continues to be at a standstill, and the much-hyped tourism grounded. The government has to take business stakeholders and organizations on board and chart out a roadmap.
