http://oheraldo.in/comment/reply/10052
Goa all set to join SEZ club BY HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, FEB 18 — With an estimated 25 billion dollars of foreign direct investment expected in Special Economic Zones by 2009 and with employment generation of five lakh in India, Goa is all set to join the SEZ bandwagon with 25 acres of land at Dona Paula waiting to be converted into an IT park. Spelling out implications of SEZ in Goa in his presentation on "SEZ in Goa" at the event, Synapse '06, organised at the Goa Institute of Management in Ribandar on Saturday, Development Commissioner of Goa, J K Dadoo, said that landowners could turn their fallow lands into big money spinners and FDI could be greatly encouraged. Dadoo said the State government would first focus on the IT Park in Dona Paula and later shift its attention to SEZs in Keri (pharmaceuticals) and Verna (bio-technology). "An SEZ for gems and jewellery is also contemplated based on the interest shown by Goan entrepreneurs." He said, "I've been told that many of the artisans working in Mumbai are from Goa. If they could come together and form a group of around 20, we could set up the SEZ." With the exemption of taxes and duties, it was easy for any private party to develop an SEZ entirely on its own, he pointed. Dadoo maintained that infrastructure and development should go hand-in-hand for SEZs to flourish. Refusing to get into the airport controversy, he said it was imperative to have good airports and ports because the SEZs largely meant for export-oriented industries. Wipro Technologies Chief Information Officer Laxman Badiga delivered the keynote address on the occasion. He said that Wipro was looking at Goa as a possible market to harness the State's potent talent in the service industry. Quoting from a NASSCOM McKinsey Reports of 2002 and 2005, Badiga said India is turning into a service economy and a service centre of the world. India's offshore IT and BPO industries can reach exports of 60 billion dollars by 2010 according to the report, he added. -- Peace be with you! Ani borem mog khor! Gabe Menezes. London, England
