Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI)

Hon’ble CM Mr. Manohar Parrikar has set May 30, 2018, as the deadline for the plastic ban in Goa and strict enforcement against littering which would be declared an offense. I remember mentioning in one of my earlier communications to you about ‘the great Pacific garbage patch’ in the North Pacific ocean and how toxic contents in plastic pieces consumed by fish are consumed by humans resulting in the injection of harmful toxic chemicals. Closer home in Goa, not only is plastic debris found perennially floating in the sea, there was a new menace to the issue of the presence of formalin in fish in Goa. What needed professional handling was unfortunately given a political color. GCCI has requested a rational approach where public safety is addressed first while also taking into account the issues being faced by the various stakeholders.

Instead of waking up when disaster strikes, the industry-government, and the public have to be vigilant and responsible at all times. Be it a product or service, deficiency on any side could be dangerous. Illegal mining, sand extraction, and formalin have just shown us how the greed of any kind can be disastrous not just for the handful of people involved but for the entire sector.

The GoaMiles Taxi app launched by GTDC this year was a step in the right direction and we applauded GTDC for this much-needed initiative. Much more needs to be done on the tourism front including urgent redressal of the garbage issue. This month, newspapers were full of photos of broken glass bottles and other waste dumped by tourists on the beaches. The headlines also screamed of the dismal show by tourism this year in the case of sheer numbers of room nights in hotels. Goa greenery, sun, sand, and fish have earned their share on the global tourism map. If this is replaced by concrete and garbage and if the faith in its fish is finished’ then why would one come to Goa? Nature has blessed us aplenty. Let us at least make an effort for its upkeep.

The Serendipity Arts Festival is one of the best things to have happened to Goa. Held at more than 10 venues scattered around Panaji, from 15″ to 22nd December this year, it was an event par excellence. In its third edition this year, for Goans, it was a visual and creative treat to performances by some of the topmost artists of the country and also from abroad. It could be strong brand leverage for Goa helping promote Goa as a destination encouraging arts, theatre, and music. I would say hats off to the organizers for curating such a world-class event making excellent use of some of Goa’s heritage infrastructure. IFFI and Serendipity have given Goa a new dimension. Let us try to attract more such cultural events to Goa.

R.Gopalkrishnan, former Executive Director, Tata Sons, keynote speaker at GCCI’s AGM in June had said that Goa was poised for a great future and it could combine its potential in IT with manufacturing and biotech. True enough, the only sector showing activity and promise in Goa is the IT sector. The Goa IT Policy was launched in July The governments of Goa and Telangana in collaboration with Niti Ayog hosted India’s first-ever international blockchain congress in August.

This year we also celebrated the first anniversary of the launch of GST. The debate still goes on about the ‘good'(s) tax. The Chamber has been on its toes holding sessions and workshops throughout the year to ensure that members were periodically updated on the nuances of the act and its implementation. The last program by Chamber on GST in December was an “Outreach Programme Especially For MSME” in association with the Central GST Commissionerate Goa, Dept of Commercial Taxes Goa, Customs House, and SBI.

This month GCCI was invited by the Director of Industries (DITC) to a meeting to discuss the creation of a Single Window System for various licenses, permissions clearances, etc for industrial units under the concept of EoDB. We were informed that Government to Business Services (G2B)’ under Ease of Doing Business would be integrated with State Interface of Single Window. The Single Window interface for the State of Goa is the IPB home page. GCCI looks forward to seeing this much-improved system in place in the new year to facilitate ease of doing business in Goa.

So it is goodbye 2018. Let the bygones be and let us work together for a better tomorrow.

Sandip Bhandare