So we just had the polls and we have visionary idealist Mr. Manohar Parrikar become the CM of the state. So he decides to make the Goa the next IT hub of the country. Let us look at some of points that might go into the favour of this decision and somethings that might not...
An IT industry in Goa seems reality why....
1. The resource Wealth - Goa has always mantained excellent standards of education. We have a large crowd of IT professionals working outside Goa who are eager to come back home. So in terms of resources we can provide this industry with people having excellent skills. Importantly we have a good English speaking crowd which certainly proves a great boon to this industry since most IT projects originate from America or the Europe and the work involves constant communication.
2. The Location - Goa lies at the centre of three major IT hubs of India, Mumbai, Pune & Bangalore. A lot of It work involves a constant travel between two locations and having a center at Goa might well work for the IT companies. Another major benefit of having an IT center in Goa is that it would be that it would ease the pressure off which the IT industries have created on these cities in terms of housing and commutation.
3. Human Developement - Goa has mantained high standards in terms of urbanisation and human development which certainly would attract people to work here.
4. A sustainable industry - IT industry certainly scores over the unreliable tourism industry and the exhaustive mining industry. The need to shift focus from these two tarditional industries replete with drawbacks to a more sustainable industry has always been felt. An economy dependant on the IT industry appears a much more stable economy. It generates a much greater employment and is also a much cleaner alternative than the mining industry.
An IT industry in Goa still a distant dream....
1. Unstable Politics- Politics is still a considerable headache to this plan. We have one party supporting it and the other opposing this move. To make matters worse most the politicos are still either directly or indirectly connected with the mining industry. A stable IT industry would soon diminish the over dependance of the mining industry on the the economy and most political big wigs and the mining barons may try to lobby against this move. Their method is sure fire, they would certainly indoctrine the people with the ill effects of this move and we might see a tremendous back lash from the people of Goa opposing this move.
2. Traditionalism - Goans have always mantained a very sussegad approach to their lives. This may prove a disaster to the IT industry. Well you may ask me how. Consider living in Pune, we always mantain very high levels of professionalism by being on time to work, by always completing work on time, by working under high levels of stress etc. I am not sure whether Goans would forego their very lazy habits to embrace the fast paced world of IT. Another very disturbing aspect of the Goan life are the number of social gatherings and family functions one has to attend which puts a huge pressure on professional commitments. ( I had personally faced this facet of life when i worked in Kolkata, just like the Goans the Bengalis too do not miss their social commitments and that strains their professional output).
3. Regionalism - Sadly even though we are highly liberal in our thinking we have still not embraced immigrancy in the right way. We still refer to non goans by derogatory terms like bhingta, bhiknakar, bhaile etc. In fact we too are planning a an IT industry with just Goans in mind. We need to understand that having a IT industry requires a more rational thinking and the success of this industry depends upon how much regionalism we can do away with.
4. Infrastructure - Infrastructure in Goa does not seem adequate enough in terms of housing and commutation required by the IT industry.The sever scarcity of land still appears a major problem. I am unsure how Goa would tackle a major inflow of people.
The Verdict
When i first started writing this article i struggled to find points that might support the idea of Goa as the next IT hub. The drawbacks were far too numerous to list down. There are far too many dead ends we might encounter while making this plan work. In my opinion this idea still appears a distant dream for all Goans. Though the IT industry appears a far more beneficial then the other flourishing industries of Goa but the Goans have still been too pessimistic about the benefits offered.
An IT industry in Goa seems reality why....
1. The resource Wealth - Goa has always mantained excellent standards of education. We have a large crowd of IT professionals working outside Goa who are eager to come back home. So in terms of resources we can provide this industry with people having excellent skills. Importantly we have a good English speaking crowd which certainly proves a great boon to this industry since most IT projects originate from America or the Europe and the work involves constant communication.
2. The Location - Goa lies at the centre of three major IT hubs of India, Mumbai, Pune & Bangalore. A lot of It work involves a constant travel between two locations and having a center at Goa might well work for the IT companies. Another major benefit of having an IT center in Goa is that it would be that it would ease the pressure off which the IT industries have created on these cities in terms of housing and commutation.
3. Human Developement - Goa has mantained high standards in terms of urbanisation and human development which certainly would attract people to work here.
4. A sustainable industry - IT industry certainly scores over the unreliable tourism industry and the exhaustive mining industry. The need to shift focus from these two tarditional industries replete with drawbacks to a more sustainable industry has always been felt. An economy dependant on the IT industry appears a much more stable economy. It generates a much greater employment and is also a much cleaner alternative than the mining industry.
An IT industry in Goa still a distant dream....
1. Unstable Politics- Politics is still a considerable headache to this plan. We have one party supporting it and the other opposing this move. To make matters worse most the politicos are still either directly or indirectly connected with the mining industry. A stable IT industry would soon diminish the over dependance of the mining industry on the the economy and most political big wigs and the mining barons may try to lobby against this move. Their method is sure fire, they would certainly indoctrine the people with the ill effects of this move and we might see a tremendous back lash from the people of Goa opposing this move.
2. Traditionalism - Goans have always mantained a very sussegad approach to their lives. This may prove a disaster to the IT industry. Well you may ask me how. Consider living in Pune, we always mantain very high levels of professionalism by being on time to work, by always completing work on time, by working under high levels of stress etc. I am not sure whether Goans would forego their very lazy habits to embrace the fast paced world of IT. Another very disturbing aspect of the Goan life are the number of social gatherings and family functions one has to attend which puts a huge pressure on professional commitments. ( I had personally faced this facet of life when i worked in Kolkata, just like the Goans the Bengalis too do not miss their social commitments and that strains their professional output).
3. Regionalism - Sadly even though we are highly liberal in our thinking we have still not embraced immigrancy in the right way. We still refer to non goans by derogatory terms like bhingta, bhiknakar, bhaile etc. In fact we too are planning a an IT industry with just Goans in mind. We need to understand that having a IT industry requires a more rational thinking and the success of this industry depends upon how much regionalism we can do away with.
4. Infrastructure - Infrastructure in Goa does not seem adequate enough in terms of housing and commutation required by the IT industry.The sever scarcity of land still appears a major problem. I am unsure how Goa would tackle a major inflow of people.
The Verdict
When i first started writing this article i struggled to find points that might support the idea of Goa as the next IT hub. The drawbacks were far too numerous to list down. There are far too many dead ends we might encounter while making this plan work. In my opinion this idea still appears a distant dream for all Goans. Though the IT industry appears a far more beneficial then the other flourishing industries of Goa but the Goans have still been too pessimistic about the benefits offered.
No comments:
Post a Comment