GCCI office bearers led by vice-president Yatin Kakodkar addressed a press conference after the Budget presentation in Panaji on Sunday
Panaji: Goa govt needs to work harder to capitalise on the Union Budget’s allocations for crucial areas like manufacturing, tourism, agriculture and healthcare, said Goa Inc on Sunday.While the state’s private sector leaders appreciated finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s fiscal roadmap, they said that Goa could miss out on opportunities if the state govt does not “work closely” with the Centre.
In her ninth budget, Sitharaman announced a Rs 10,000 crore fund to promote the MSMEs, spoke about the revival of 200 legacy industrial clusters, five medical tourism hubs, schemes to promote coconut cultivation, and a roadmap to develop inland waterways, coastal shipping and logistics.“We are confident that Goa govt will also work closely with Union govt to promote medical tourism in our state. It’s a very good announcement, but Goa govt should capitalise on it,” said Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice-president Yatin Kakodkar.The Goa State Industries Association (GSIA) said that measures such as the Rs 10,000 crore SME growth fund, enhanced TReDS-based liquidity, and support for industrial clusters will significantly aid MSME scale-up and ease compliance.“The emphasis on infrastructure, plug-and-play industrial parks, and logistics efficiency is particularly relevant for Goa’s manufacturing sector. GSIA looks forward to effective implementation and strong state-level facilitation to ensure these benefits reach micro and small manufacturers,” said GSIA president Pradip D Costa.Privately, Goa’s private sector players were a bit more candid and said that state govt was slow in harnessing previous budgetary allocations for industries, agriculture and fisheries.“We pushed for Goa as a multi-modal logistics hub, and this budget focused on logistics. It is now for the state to grab this opportunity,” said an industry spokesperson.GCCI vice-president Sangam Kurade said that the responsibility of utilising the schemes also lies with Goa’s private enterprises.“In that sense, the tourism department was active in ensuring that funds allocated in the Union Budget are utilised for the development of the tourism sector. We also saw these in the Swadesh Darshan coastal circuit and several other initiatives,” said Travel and Tourism Association of Goa president Jack Sukhija.
