PANAJI
Appealing to the new government to recognise the enormous potential of the IT industry to effectively tackle unemployment in the State, the Goa IT Professionals (GITP) has suggested that the ministry and departments be headed by highly competent individuals who will improve Goa’s IT scene in the next few years.
In a press release, the GITP stated that time and again, the State governments have promised to make Goa an IT hub.
“Policy after policy have been released and projected as creation of a conducive environment for the industry. Crores have been spent on events in the state that have only generated hype but no substance.”
“The IT Policy serves as a mere piece of paper, unless government procedures are tuned to eliminate hassles for the industry and improve Ease of Doing Business. Goa now has the disrepute of continuously slipping on the EODB index.”
“There is no active promotion of Goa as an IT destination. The IT sector in the country is abuzz with instances of fresh investment and expansion of R&D centres in India. However, the State departments have made no significant effort to approach the companies to invite them to Goa.”
The GITP further stated that the last two academic years have been spent without reliable communication infrastructure for students.
“There is no data available on the number of mobile towers set up in the State after the release of the Goa Telecom Infrastructure Policy 2020.”
“The Startup Policy 2017 had announced financial incentives for startups. However, the process for registering a startup and availing scheme benefits continues to be cumbersome. Most startups are still awaiting their incentives to be disbursed.”
The GITP claimed the CARES project managed by SCERT has taken a good shape, but its success relies on the availability of adequate low-cost computers in school labs.
“And the tender for this had exceptionally stringent terms resulting in no vendor bidding for it thereby dealing a serious blow to and risking this good project.”
“The end result is that Goa’s educated youth continue to migrate to other states, causing a depletion of the intellectual manpower in the state,” the GITP added.
