Goa Management Association is constantly engaging with Goan industry and the management fraternity to understand topical concerns faced by the industry and measures to address these concerns.
In this endeavour, GMA hosted a panel discussion on Managing Challenges for Industry in Goa on Tuesday, 29 January 2019, at Hotel Crown, Panaji.
Goa, a small state (area 3702 m2) with a highly literate (~90%) English-speaking population of 15 lakhs, well-connected with the world, and known for its scenic beauty, has great potential to be a major industrial hub. It has a moderate social, physical and industrial infrastructure, and its key industries are Tourism, Food processing, Pharma, Mining, ITES, etc. However, Goa has not featured prominently on the industry map of the country.
To discuss some of the contemporary challenges faced by the Goan industry, the panel discussion attempted to throw up and answer questions on entrepreneurial skills, startup culture, ease of doing business, environmental concerns, among other critical aspects.
Four eminent representatives of industry shared their views on different aspects and suggested means to tackle issues towards turning around the impasse in the state’s industrial growth.
Mr. Sandip Bhandare, President, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spoke of the general problems faced by the industry including, land, electricity, infrastructure, etc. He mentioned the need to improve processes and the ease of doing business.
Mr. Rajkumar Kamat, President, Goa State Industries Association addressed the current trend of technological disruptions and spoke on what industry needs to do to cope with these changes. He mentioned that handling the millennials would also be a challenge.
Mr. Jack Sukhija, Hon Secretary, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa represents the key industry of Goa and spoke realistically about the recent drop in tourists, and the regulatory issues plaguing the state due to which others areas are emerging as more favoured destinations. He spoke of the relevance of mapping of the industry to Porters five forces.
Mr. Mangirish Salelkar, President, Goa Technology Association made a critical presentation of the reasons why Goa is not the preferred location for the sunrise industry and pointed out the aspects of IT policy, capital support to startups, role of incubators, and the need to create awareness among youngsters and entrepreneurial students about facilities available like incubators.
Corporate trainer, Dr. Pradeep Salgaonkar, immediate past Chairman of GMA, moderated the panel discussion. The event was presided over by Harshvardhan Bhatkuly, Chairman of GMA. There was active participation from the audience which comprised of members from the industry, academia and press, who probed the panel with questions that brought to the fore several action points which could pave the way for Goa emerging as a favourite destination for new industry and as the venue for startups. Amin Ladak, Vice Chairman of GMA, ended the event with thanks to the gathering.
You must be logged in to post a comment.