The only boat that is being rocked is off-shore casinos where the mood swings from a complete ban to a phased ban
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Strip all political manifestos of the rhetoric regarding employment and industrial growth and what do we have? Not much. A study of all the manifestos released so far show that there is very little that differentiates one political party from the other. The general refrain of the BJP is that it will take forward the unfinished business of the previous term. On the issue of jobs it says it requires another five years to fulfill its promise of creating 50,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party has promised to create 50,000 jobs if it is elected to power and the preferred route to this destination is the investment promotion board. The Congress has promised employment for all by using EDC to do the job of the IPB. On the issue of mining, almost all political parties are on the same page, except for AAP which wants to pursue the activist dream of nationalizing the sector and chase the imaginary Rs 35,000 crore that was allegedly siphoned out of the system. Again on the IT sector all political parties hope to achieve the same goal of nudging the sector into top gear.
All the election manifestos point to one thing “ there is agreement among political parties on what needs to be done to speed up growth in the industrial sector. There is hardly any difference in the ways and means to achieve the above targets. While it was the Congress that earlier championed the cause of Goan workers by promising to make it mandatory for industries to hire 80 per cent of their staff from within the State, AAP has now promised to give incentives to companies that employ locals. The problem is that special incentives and schemes for companies which employ 80 per cent locals and more already exist.
The manifestos, by and large, show that the industrial sector in the State is stable and every political party has a stake in ensuring that status quo is maintained. The only boat that is being rocked is off-shore casinos where the mood swings from a complete ban to a phased ban with the best possible scenario for this industry is being moved from the Mandovi river to the Arabian Sea. In that sense there is not much room left in the State for experimentation or creativity. It’s about taking forward the existing agenda with a few tweaks. The promise of a five year VAT holiday by the Congress is aimed at bringing in new industry, but if one looks at the long list of companies queuing outside the IPB, this seems unnecessary. AAP’s promise to transform Goa into a film-making destination is new provided the emphasis is on post-production because shootings are already happening. The BJP’s idea of having an ombudsman for quick redressal of industrial disputes might have enthused if more details had been provided.
All in all, the promises made by political parties on the industrial and employment fronts are like old wine in an old bottle but with a new cap and label.
