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BY INVITATION
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STATE NEEDS TO
RETHINK ON IPB!
* Kunkolienkar said Goa needs to re-think about investment policy and the IPB
* He said a wrong signal had been sent by withdrawing approvals to 17 projects in CRZ areas
* Instead of withdrawing approvals the act governing IPB could have been amended, he opined
* Kunkolienkar was the member of the IPB during the previous government in the State
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PANAJI: Goa's renowned industrialist Nitin Kunkolienkar has stressed the need for Goa to focus on emerging technologies. He was speaking as Guest Editor during an interaction at the first issue of March 2018 of Goan-Varta and The Goan Everyday.
Kunkolienkar is President of Synegra EMS and Ex-President of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI). Besides, he is also the president of MAIT (Manufacturer’s Association for Information Technology).
He went on to name a number of emerging and upcoming technologies where the state government should be focussing, which include Advanced GIS (Geographic Information System), Advanced Genomics, Internet of Things, Mobile Internet, Intelligent Transport System, Storageable Power, Renewable Energy, LED, Automation of Knowledge, Verifiable Digital Identity and Electric Vehicles.
Talking at length about these technologies, Kunkolienkar said, “There is a huge potential in renewable energy like solar power, but we haven’t done much in this area. With smart cities, Internet of Things is going to be a big thing. Aadhar has already created a way for verifiable digital identity and now things should be taken forward.”
He further said that rather than focussing on information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS), the state government should focus on emerging technologies.
Explaining how emerging technologies can be encouraged, Kunkolienkar said, “Goa has NIO (National Institute of Oceanography), ICAR (Indian Council for Agriculture Research), Pharma units which have research wings, Electronic companies like Smartlink Network Systems and Andrew Telecommunications, which have good design centres. We need to create a design laboratory ecosystem.”
“You are getting IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), NIT (National Institute of Technology), you have Goa Engineering College and if you connect them and start working on creating Goa as a design hub, we will have design led manufacturing and Goa can lead the nation,” he continued.
Kunkolienkar said ITeS industries like call centre need low end manpower in huge numbers, which Goa cannot provide. Therefore, the state government should be focussing on emerging technologies.
He said, “If you create low end jobs for which Goa can’t provide manpower, then it will obviously lead to migration.”
