About Goa : Goa is the smallest state in terms of area and the fourth smallest in terms of population. It is located on the west coast of India in the region known as the Konkan. Goa is bound by the state of Maharashtra to the North and by Karnataka to the East and South, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa has a coastline of 101 km (63 miles). Renowned for its beaches, temples and world heritage architecture, Goa is visited by hundreds of thousands of international and domestic tourists each year. It also has a rich flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which is classified as a biodiversity hotspot. One of the fast developing states in India, Goa enjoys a high standard of living. The major food crops in the State are rice, paddy, maize, jawar, bajra and ragi. While, main cash crops are coconut, cashew nut, areca nut, sugarcane and fruits like pineapple, mango and banana. Out of the total geographical area of 3702 sq km, the State has a rich forest cover of about 1424.46 sq km. Of this, 1224.46 sq km has been classified as Government forest (of which about 62% has been brought under Protected Areas (PA) of Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks) and the rest as private forests.
Economic Profile : Goa's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $3 billion in current prices. Goa is India's richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole, and one of its fastest growth rates: 8.23% (yearly average 1990-2000).
Tourism : Tourism is Goa's primary industry; it handles 13% of all foreign tourist arrivals in India. Goa has two main tourist seasons: winter and summer. In the winter time, tourists from abroad (mainly Europe) come to Goa to enjoy the splendid climate. In the summertime (which, in Goa, is the rainy season), tourists from across India come to spend the holidays. Tourism is generally focused on the coastal areas of Goa, with decreased tourist activity inland. Goa's tourism contributes to 15% of India's total foreign exchange earnings. In 2006-07 there were more than 2.5 million tourists reported to have visited Goa, both domestic and foreign and total revenue earned for the fiscal year 2006-07 from tourism is Rs. 4000 crore as against Rs. 3700 crore in 2005-06. A major upcoming concept attracting a lot of tourists to Goa is the rise of Medical Tourism in Goa. Dentists in Goa claim that tourists save over 70% on their dental treatment if done here in Goa. Hence they are offering holiday packages which include expensive dental treatments at competitive rates without compromising on the state-of-the-art dental facilities that Goa has to offer.
Mining : The land away from the coast is rich in minerals and ores and mining forms the second largest industry. Mining in Goa focuses on ores of iron, Bauxite, manganese, clays, limestone and silica. The Mormagao Port handled 35.13 million tonnes of cargo last year, and accounts for over 39% of India's Iron Ore exports. Rampant mining in areas rich in Iron Ore and other minerals is now threatening the forest cover as well as posing a health hazard to the local population. Mining corporations are also indulging in illegal mining in some areas without proper permits.
Agriculture : Agriculture, while of shrinking importance to the economy over the past four decades, offers part-time employment to a sizable portion of the populace. Rice is the main agricultural crop, followed by areca, cashew and coconut. Fishing is another traditional and important economic activity of the State. Goa, being located on the west coast of India, has a coastline extending over 100 kms and inland waterways of another 250 kms, rich in marine wealth. Prawns, the valuable foreign exchange earner, mackerels, sardines, etc. are available in plenty in Goa coast. The fishing industry provides employment for about forty thousand people, though recent official figures indicate a decline of the importance of this sector and also a fall in catch, perhaps coupled with the fact that traditional fishing has given way to large-scale mechanised trawling. Many small scale units based on fisheries resources like salt curing of mackerels, fish meat, fish oils, dehydration of fishes etc. are being set up. The fishing activity has also given a big boost to canning, freezing and other fish processing units in the State. A couple of fish oil extraction as well as fish meal manufacturing units can also be set up in the State by utilizing the rich fisheries resources. Goa is also notable for its low liquor prices due to its very low excise duty on alcohol. Another source of cash inflow into the state comes from many of its citizens who work abroad and remit money to their families.
Industries: Medium scale industries include the manufacturing of pesticides, fertilizers, tyres, tubes, footwear, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, wheat products, steel rolling, fruits and fish canning, cashew nuts, textiles, brewery products.
Information Technology (IT) and ITES industry is very well suited to Goa owing to the industry's non-polluting nature and the fact that it makes only conservative demands on precious resources such as land, electricity and water, etc. Goa is well placed to move towards being a knowledge economy.
Infrastructure : Goa is strategically located with good transportation facilities like excellent road and rail network; centrally located airport; and well-developed seaports. It has one of the country's highest tele-densities. Fibre optic connectivity has also spread its network across the State, bringing state of art telecommunication to the people. Besides, there is sufficient power reserve in the State. Accordingly, the Government of Goa has been undertaking several infrastructural projects to encourage private sector participation and investment.
Airport : Goa has well developed international airport with customs clearance facilities and well connected to major cities of India, besides facilities for chartered flights. Goa's Dabolim International Airport is 25 km away from the State Capital, Panaji. Chartered flights from European countries arrive here regularly. Goa is linked to Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Madras, Hyderabad, Cochin and Trivandrum by air.
Water Transport : Goa has a well developed internal water transport network formed by a grid of navigable rivers. This offers industries a most economical mode of transport for their goods and raw material throughout the State. The barges that ply the internal water network are swift, efficient and most important, reliable.
Banking & Finance : Several all India Financial Institutions along with the State's Financial and Infrastructure Developmental Organizations help entrepreneurs to get a firm foothold in Goa without any inconvenience.
Roads : Goa has about 195 km for every 100sq. Km, against the National average of 50 kms of roads for 100 sq. km. Well connected by two national highways along the West coast, namely NH4A and NH17, besides the dense network of metallic roads connecting the state to other parts of the country.
Railways: South-Central Railway and Konkan Railway providing rail links with major cities. Well linked by rail South-Central railway to Bangalore, Delhi, Bombay and Secundrabad and proposed to be well connected with Konkan railway from Bombay to Mangalore.
Port: Mormugao port is one of the best all weather natural ports in India. It can accommodate over 50 ships in outer anchorage. Port has mechanised loading facility, an oil berth and a general Cargo berth. There are also another six minor ports, which have tremendous potential to improve trade facilities. Excellent all weather international port with multipurpose general cargo berth and fully containerized service operations. The State can be front runner in the development of the Indian economy due to the vast hinterland that it commands.
Power : Compared to the National pattern of industrial power consumption, the share of the industrial sector in the Goa power pie is much larger. The power supply situated is therefore more than comfortable for industrial users. Goa's per capita power consumption which is 690 kwh a good indicator to current power supply situation.
Water : Goa has sufficient water for domestic as well as industrial uses. To cater for the future requirement the state Government has initiated the Selaulim Water Supply project.
Water available in adequate quantity and is piped through Assnora, Selaulim and Opa reservoirs.
Telecom : The Telecom facilities in Goa are on par with other metro cities in the country. Optical fibre provides high speed access to a wide range of Internet related services. Goa is the second State of the Country to achieve 100% automatic telephone system, with a very good network of Telephone Exchanges. All towns are well connected to the STD and ISD network with 100% automatic telephone system and is being connected to optical fibre network.
Incentives to Investors :The Industrial Policy, has been formulated by the Govt. with a view to achieve overall economic growth of the State through accelerated industrial development. The policy focuses on the creation of sustainable employment opportunities for the people of the State. The main objectives of the policy are:-
· Promote industries specifically identified as 'Thrust Areas' in the State
· Provide industries an access to high quality infrastructural and marketing facilities
· Promote industries which would consume locally available raw materials, have consumption pattern within the State and neighbouring areas
· Develop Goa as the 'Export/Import Hub' and thus encourage export-oriented industries
· Develop self-employment opportunities for the local youth especially in rural and semi urban areas
· Promote and encourage the agro-based industries to give a boost to the rural economy
· Encourage development of handicraft products to give boost to local artisans
· Create a healthy climate for the growth and promotion of small-scale and cottage industries
· Accelerate the process of technological upgradation/ automation in the existing units as well as in new industries so that need of migrant labour is gradually reduced
· Create cluster development centres in rural areas around which traditional livelihood earning professions can develop and thrive
· Encourage industries which can convert existing and generated industrial waste such as mining rejects, slag etc., into useful products
· Encourage participation of women entrepreneurs in the industrial development of the State
· Ensure balanced growth to address regional economic and social disparities in the State
· Promote all such industries that are environment friendly and do not indulge in wasteful consumption of resources
· Facilitate revival and rehabilitation of sick industrial units by devising suitable schemes
· Promote Research and Development (R&D) to enable the industry to have access to state of art technology etc.
Another important policy being, the Information Technology (IT) Policy, which has been announced in order to encourage the IT/ITES (IT enabled Services) industry in the State in a big way. Goa has an ideal advantage to make the State a preferred destination for attracting software and hardware companies as well as promoting local IT companies. It has good infrastructure for promoting IT. Thus, Goa is well placed to move towards being a knowledge society/ economy. Keeping in view such facts, the Government of Goa has designed this policy, which aims to:-
· Create employment opportunities for an increasing proportion of population of the State in diverse sectors of the economy
· Enhance welfare conditions of the citizens of Goa by providing them easy access to required information
· Optimally leverage IT to restructure government-citizen interface with the objective of providing good governance
· Promote IT education in schools, colleges and other educational institutions in the State
· Increase the penetration of personal computers (PCs) in the society
· Facilitate entry of major industry players into the State economy.
Key Initiatives / Information
As a taxpayer, you may have some very legitimate grievances relating to your Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax (Indirect Tax) matters such as settlement of your claims etc. You may, for example, feel that the Department owes you a certain refund of tax but it is not doing enough to hear your grievance or complaint nor taking action to redress it. You may also be aggrieved about the unwarranted rude behaviour of officials or their failure to follow instructions and circulars of the Board. In all such cases, you can approach your Indirect Tax Ombudsman.
CII News Update
CII Director General, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee complimented the BJP for their win in the state assembly elections in Goa. This provides a great opportunity for the new government for taking the state to the next level of development. CII looks forward to working closely with the new Government to bui.....
There is an urgent need for an independent film commission backed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India to attract foreign film makers to benefit from the potential of shooting locations and talent from India. This was articulated by experts who participated at the CII India - `T.....
Coinciding with the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI), The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organizing a one day ‘India-The Big Picture’ Workshop on 24 November 2010 at Vivanta by Taj, Goa. The workshops will give an insight into the varied shooting destinations and speciali.....
CII Awards & Recognitions
Quality Control Circles create a conducive and stimulating atmosphere for the workers such that their creativity can be energized and properly canalized. QCC Competition provides a unique opportunity to motivate workers to form Quality Circles within the company and also provides them a forum to exchange ideas and share theirs experiences. It is beneficial for senior managers, supervisors and management personnel.
Kaizen is a system of continuous improvement in quality, technology, processes, company culture, productivity, safety and leadership. In today’s scenario, “Kaizen activity “ is one of the benchmarked tools that not only enhances the growth of any Organisation, but also uplifts the Morale of the employees, setting a good example of “employer - employee relationships”, as it calls for collaboration, commitment & teamwork from top to down.
The Regional and National Workskills India Competitions organised by CII, are recognised by the Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGE&T), Ministry of Labour, Government of India.
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