With a vision to create a globally competitive information technology ecosystem in the state, the government on Sunday unveiled the Goa IT Policy 2018, replacing the IT policy which was released in 2015. Through the policy, the government plans to attract at least five large multinational IT companies and help create 8,000–10,000 jobs for locals.
IT minister Rohan Khaunte said the IT policy would be hinged around development, financial incentives, governance and human resource development.
Union minister for electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad released the state IT policy and schemes in the presence of chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
“This is a policy where we had lot of interactions with stakeholders. They shared their requirements and the problems they faced,” Khaunte said.
The policy, which was released along with nine financial schemes, is expected to benefit existing IT companies and new companies that want to set up in Goa. While most of the schemes in the policy are similar to the earlier Goa IT Investment Policy of 2015, the revised policy aims to remove bureaucratic hurdles by ushering in government reforms.
The policy exempts new and existing IT companies from labour laws and permits companies to function around-the-clock in three shifts. The firms would also be exempted from inspections and would be permitted to file selfcertifications to ensure compliance under labour laws.
Continuing with the ease of doing business reforms, the Goa IT Policy 2018 also promised time-bound approvals of investments and incentives, within a 90-day period. “Come to Goa to create and run your business. Goa cannot be a place only for tourism. This policy is a balanced approach to keep our ethos and traditions alive even while we create opportunities in the IT sector,” Khaunte said.
The Goa IT Policy found favour among industry leaders with co-founder of NASSCOM Ashank Desai saying that Goa had the right culture for the IT industry to grow. “Places like Bengaluru, Pune and NCR (national capital region) are getting saturated, and the next $60 billion of the IT industry has to come from new places like Goa,” he said.
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