india

Updated: Oct 17, 2019 23:29 IST

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday promised potential investors that his government would grant approvals within 30 days of submitting a proposal, especially if they are from hospitality, tourism, IT services or agro-based sectors.

Inaugurating the first Vibrant Goa business summit, Sawant said that the state was eager to draw industries especially in the IT sector to Goa.

“I can assure our international delegates who seek to invest in Goa, that your proposal will be cleared within 30 days. We are looking forward to improve our performance in sectors such as hospitality, tourism, IT services besides agro-based sector keeping in mind the goals of sustainable development,” Sawant said.

Under the current system a proposal is first received by Goa’s investment promotion board and after approval, the investor needs to seek approvals from other government departments before it is finally given the go ahead. Sawant wants to ensure that the departments are consulted first before approval is granted and that the process gets over in a month.

“Once the board approves it, they will be able to start actual construction of a project within 15 days to one month,” Sawant said.

The Vibrant Goa summit is also convergence for Goan industries and business community to showcase their strengths, highlight business opportunities and facilitate knowledge dissemination across 12 countries worldwide and 20 states of India.

The chief minister promised that by the next year Goa would have state of the art infrastructure in the form of a new airport, road and port connectivity as well as an environment where one can work during the day and party in the evening.

Goa’s Minister for IT Jennifer Monserrate promised to create a holistic road map for the development of ease in ecosystem and investment for all the IT companies looking to expand the footprints of their organisation in Goa.

Among the foreign delegates, Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy, UAE said the Emirates was continually looking to invest in Goa.

“India is and has always been an important partner for UAE. The collateral trade between India and UAE has grown exponentially from $180 million in 1970s to $60 billion in 2018 & 2019,” Al Kait said.

“We, at UAE, are looking for new avenues for trade and investment around the globe and India is definitely on the radar. Vibrant Goa is the right platform to begin to find these opportunities,” he added.

The three day summit will witness more than 270 Goan entrepreneurs try and secure deals with prospective clients as well as those seeking to invest in Goa.