No one really thought about it that way, but when you consider that the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) has not cleared a single information technology (IT) project till date, the one question that pops up is, why not? One can hardly blame the IPB for it, because its job is to clear projects that come to it and not solicit. But the fact staring in the face of the government is that no big IT project has fallen in Goa’s lap for a very long time. Goa’s IT professionals have a point when they say that the bulk of the projects cleared by the IPB are linked to the tourism industry like hotels, eco-tourism projects, breweries and real estate. The projects are linked to the profile of the state which is seen from outside as an entertainment hub. If you want to chill out the first name to pop up is Goa. So
popular has the brand become that
practically everyone wants a piece
of Goa, preferably in the form of a
2BHK, or larger if funds permit. So
if some official were to go to the
capitals of the other states and proclaim
that Goa wants to become an
info-tech hub, he would be laughed
in the face.
Goa and IT just don’t go, because
the image of Goa shows otherwise.
People come here for the beaches not the wi-fi bandwidth,
which is pathetic in any case. Of course Goa is not all about
song and dance. It does have a manufacturing sector, but it’s
the image that acts as a block. The red tape and corruption
just makes it more difficult. The State government has plans to
create an electronic and systems design manufacturing park
in Tuem. Although a proposal has been sent to the Centre, the
government was unable to get even five companies to pledge
support. Goa does not have the gravitas to draw IT players. On
the other hand look the quality of players it is drawing in the
hospitality sector shows where the emphasis of the State really
lies.
What Goa has is a set of incentives but the problem is that
every state has incentives and some are quicker at going from
the proposal to construction stages. Incentives alone cannot
build you an IT hub because larger states and cities are all vying
for the same prize. It’s a tough world and this is why Goa
has nothing in the kitty to show. Goa missed the IT bus is an
old cliché. There never was a bus.
What Goa needs is an idea and it has to look inward instead of
outward to discover if it has that spark. Silicon Valley did not
start with a park, it started with investment from the military
and then it was Stanford University that created the space for
homegrown enterprises to expand. Goa has a set of IT professionals
who are already in the field. Make space for them, not
some fancy company from outside which will only load Goa
with demands.
