It would be advisable for the government to establish IT parks in different parts of Goa to encourage rural employment and IT development, suggests SmartLinks vice-president Mr Nitin Kunkolienkar in an interview with MICHAEL FISHER on the state’s IT policy.
Q: Do you think the special treatment envisaged for major IT players in the bracket of ` 50 crore and above will lure them to Goa?
A: We need to define what the government means by special treatment. Considering the real estate demand and its location, an IT Park at Dona Paula is not the ideal place. In my opinion, an IT Park at Dona Paula should be scrapped and the government should take possession of the land. Today, the market value of that land is worth around ` 1,000 crore to ` 1,500 crore and the three lakh sqm land could be used by the government for some other purpose.
Q: What do you suggest the government should do to acquire land?
A: Goa needs to create more growth centres at different locations. I would prefer IT parks located between Panaji and Pernem; Panaji and Ponda or Shiroda; near Canacona, Margao and Quepem. We have to accept the fact that 75 per cent of the manpower would come from non-urban areas.
What’s the logic behind this?
A: The logic that was followed by the Charles Correa committee is the same logic that applies to the Dona Paula IT Park. Now the future is not just on IT development. But for the next ten years, the focus of the government would be to encourage hardcore manufacturing of electronics and IT products which also involves R&D. Design engineering is going to grow. There aren’t many takers for IT parks in Goa. Rather, the government should focus on world class infrastructure and promote electronics and IT hardware manufacturing.
Q: How fast is the IT industry in Goa moving?
A: The current size of the electronic trade in this country is around $50 billion and is expected to grow up to $400 billion by 2020. This means the input of electronic hardware in the country will overtake outputs. Besides this, there are also major security concerns as 75 per cent of the electronic hardware comes from China. This is a major threat to the security of India as the entire China-nation makes electronics and hackers will be controlled by Chinese.
Q: The state government intends to give ` 15,000 per employee for two years as salary subsidy, is this a good idea?
A: I am against salary subsidies for employees. Instead, this money can be used to enhance skills and for training in engineering and other development fields. The government should give incentives instead of subsidies. The focus should be on value chain (manufacturing to finish products) and earmark a subsidy for training and development. Goa has to worry about employment as of today we have 2.45 lakh people in the age group of 10 to 20 years old and they would be entering the job market.
Q: Please comment on the additional FAR for buildings housing IT firms. Won’t this be misused by builders?
A: High FAR is given to offset the high cost of land. But I would prefer the government reconsider its decision and give better amenities. In a place like Dona Paula, a high FAR is not justified at today’s market price. In my opinion, 100 per cent FAR is sufficient in Dona Paula. When compared with residential plot it is 250
per cent more. If a residential plot is costing ` 15,000 a sqm, then an IT Park building will be 250 more or 2.5 times more. This is likely to create lot of disparities.
Q: Do you think the special treatment envisaged for major IT players in the bracket of ` 50 crore and above will lure them to Goa?
A: We need to define what the government means by special treatment. Considering the real estate demand and its location, an IT Park at Dona Paula is not the ideal place. In my opinion, an IT Park at Dona Paula should be scrapped and the government should take possession of the land. Today, the market value of that land is worth around ` 1,000 crore to ` 1,500 crore and the three lakh sqm land could be used by the government for some other purpose.
Q: What do you suggest the government should do to acquire land?
A: Goa needs to create more growth centres at different locations. I would prefer IT parks located between Panaji and Pernem; Panaji and Ponda or Shiroda; near Canacona, Margao and Quepem. We have to accept the fact that 75 per cent of the manpower would come from non-urban areas.
What’s the logic behind this?
A: The logic that was followed by the Charles Correa committee is the same logic that applies to the Dona Paula IT Park. Now the future is not just on IT development. But for the next ten years, the focus of the government would be to encourage hardcore manufacturing of electronics and IT products which also involves R&D. Design engineering is going to grow. There aren’t many takers for IT parks in Goa. Rather, the government should focus on world class infrastructure and promote electronics and IT hardware manufacturing.
Q: How fast is the IT industry in Goa moving?
A: The current size of the electronic trade in this country is around $50 billion and is expected to grow up to $400 billion by 2020. This means the input of electronic hardware in the country will overtake outputs. Besides this, there are also major security concerns as 75 per cent of the electronic hardware comes from China. This is a major threat to the security of India as the entire China-nation makes electronics and hackers will be controlled by Chinese.
Q: The state government intends to give ` 15,000 per employee for two years as salary subsidy, is this a good idea?
A: I am against salary subsidies for employees. Instead, this money can be used to enhance skills and for training in engineering and other development fields. The government should give incentives instead of subsidies. The focus should be on value chain (manufacturing to finish products) and earmark a subsidy for training and development. Goa has to worry about employment as of today we have 2.45 lakh people in the age group of 10 to 20 years old and they would be entering the job market.
Q: Please comment on the additional FAR for buildings housing IT firms. Won’t this be misused by builders?
A: High FAR is given to offset the high cost of land. But I would prefer the government reconsider its decision and give better amenities. In a place like Dona Paula, a high FAR is not justified at today’s market price. In my opinion, 100 per cent FAR is sufficient in Dona Paula. When compared with residential plot it is 250
per cent more. If a residential plot is costing ` 15,000 a sqm, then an IT Park building will be 250 more or 2.5 times more. This is likely to create lot of disparities.
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