Goa Chamber of Commerce Industry (GCCI) has said that the State stands to gain little in its boost to the burgeoning tourism and infrastructrue. Although the Central budget was overall acclaimed as ''very good'' with the Finance Minister doing the ''balancing act,'' it had done little to Goa, the GCCI said in a release here. ''The Budget clearly means that the States which have benefited are either those that are going for elections or those who have a very powerful lobby with the Centre,'' it said. The GCCI had urged Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane to lead a delegation comprising all political parties, trade and commerce bodies to the Finance Minister immediately to plead the case of Goa, particularly in the two sectors.>>
Another clear case of the old "blindspot"! GCCI seems to have overlooked the fact that the Budget has boosted the spend on Defence by 7% to a whopping $20 billion. Since Goa bristles with military establishments there is bound to be a "trickle down effect" of significant proportions, right? Why does GCCI not "appreciate" this largesse? Is it because of the veritable stranglehold of this particular sector on the two sectors GCCI is mainly interested in viz infrastructure and tourism? Think about it.
