Damodar Kochkar, President, Goa State Industries Association, on the challenges faced by industry post-Covid.
How would you rate the year gone by leading GSIA, under the shadow of Covid-19?
The year gone by has been a very difficult one for the manufacturing sector as well as other businesses. The outbreak of COVID-19 put the global and the national economy into a crisis which is unprecedented in modern history. The lockdowns imposed in India from the end of March 2020 to contain the spread of the disease and closure of economic activity created panic and fear amongst the people.
The initial lockdown disrupted the supply chain and many daily wage earners lost their livelihoods. The migrant workers, with no money and essential supplies, were the most affected lot. At this hour of need, GSIA with the assistance of all Industrial Estate Associations in Goa, and support from the State Government, came forward to help the migrant workers by distributing essential supplies for their subsistence.
GSIA also initiated a dialogue with the State Government to formulate a plan to restart industrial activity in Goa. Data was collected from all the industries which wanted to restart their activity with minimum workforce and agreeing to comply with all the requirements of the Government to control the spread of the coronavirus. Travel passes were issued to restart the activity. Many of the industries had workforce from neighbouring States which could not come back to re-join duty due to lockdown. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was put in place to get back such stranded employees and GSIA assisted the Government to get such employees to re-join duty.
What are your views about the last few years at GSIA?
GSIA is and has been the most vibrant and effective industries organization. Established in 1965 by Goan industrialists to strengthen the economic base in the State, what started as a tiny association of a few people has blossomed over the years into a strong industry organisation – enabling its reach to all industries in the State. During the last few years, GSIA has fought to bring in transparency and fair play in the functioning of Goa Industrial Development Corporation (Goa-IDC) and other industry related departments. As a result, the Government has notified Goa-IDC Land Allotment, Transfer and Sub-Lease Regulations and other reforms. GSIA is actively engaged with its members and the Industrial Estate Associations in its efforts not only to redress their grievances, but also to create a conducive environment to enable entrepreneurship.
What has been the primary focus of GSIA during your term as President?
Our primary focus has been to impress upon the Government to provide Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in the true sense, not only on paper, and to provide proper infrastructure such as uninterrupted power supply, water, proper roads etc., to the industries in the industrial estates. As a part of EoDB, we have been demanding that all services of the departments connected with the industry should be made available online.
Entrepreneurs should not be made to make several trips to Government Departments for their work to be done. In one instance, one entrepreneur had to make 74 trips to Goa-IDC to get his renewal lease deed rectified! Our focus is to remove all these bureaucratic hurdles.
What legacy programs have you continued from your predecessors?
My predecessors have done their best in taking up and resolving issues affecting the industry in Goa. Their vision and relentless efforts has given GSIA the status and respect that it commands today. GSIA was instrumental in formulating the Goa Industrial Policy, 2003 which was extended till March 2018. Most of the Schemes under the Industrial Policy have been now brought under the Umbrella Scheme. GSIA was also associated in drafting Goa Investment Policy which resulted in passing of Goa Investment Promotion Bill, 2014 by the State Government. We have now proposed some amendments to Goa-IPB Act so that it has enough powers to act as a Single Window System for investments in the State.
What projects have you undertaken during your term as President?
I took over as President of GSIA in June 2019. In my first address at the function, where our Chief Minister and the Industries Minister were present, I mentioned a number of problems being faced by the industries in Goa. Taking a hint at our outburst, Chief Minister, Industries Minister and Power Minister had meetings with GSIA, Presidents of Industrial Estate Associations and representatives of concerned departments to understand and sort out the issues. Soon thereafter, COVID-19 pandemic set in and our focus shifted from business to human welfare so that our workers could meet basic human needs such as food, shelter and medical aid.
As I said earlier, GSIA with the help of Industrial Estate Associations, distributed essential supplies to migrant workers; we set up a Covid-care centre with 100 beds in Verna Industrial Estate; and a RT-PCR testing facility for the industrial workers.
From a business point of view, after several meetings with Goa Electronics Limited and Goa-IDC, we could put many of Goa-IDC services online. There are still some hiccups in availing these services online, but issues are being sorted out. We have also been able to put in place Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with timelines for various services of Goa-IDC. The issue of revision of raw water charges at Verna Industrial Estate which was assured by late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has been finally sorted out. Various other issues confronting the industries connected with Factories & Boilers, Electricity Department, and Pollution Control Board are being discussed and the Chief Minister has assured us that all the issues of the industries will be sorted out to ensure Ease of Doing Business in the State.
Where do you see GSIA in a year from now?
GSIA is a not for profit organisation. Our objective is to develop industrial activity and generate employment in the State with the support of the Government. I am confident that whatever issues that we have taken up with the Government will be sorted out soon. In this connection, we receive support from the Chief Minister, Industries Minister, Chief Secretary, Industries Secretary and some bureaucrats; but down the line things need to improve. GSIA is also working very closely with other industry bodies such as GCCI, CII, CREDAI, TTAG etc. I see GSIA as the frontal organization to sort out issues faced by the industries and ensure economic growth of the State.
What is your opinion of the Government handling the lockdown with regards to the impact it has had on the industry?
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown was a bolt from the blue. It had a very disruptive impact on the national as well as the State’s economy. No Government was prepared for this disruption. The Government should have been more proactive in handling the reverse migration of the industrial workers. Manufacturing sector came to a grinding halt. It was extremely difficult for the industry to make payment of wages, bank instalments, interest and other fixed charges. We approached the Government to provide some relief in payment of the wages and other fixed charges. We requested the Government to raise power bills on actual consumption basis and not on contracted load.
Sadly, industry was at the bottom of the government’s priority list and some nominal relief was given in payment of fixed charges on electricity bills for 3 months. On the contrary, during this unprecedented economic downturn, the Government came out with amendment to Industrial Disputes Act making it compulsory to pay 45 days wages, instead of 15 days, for every completed year of service in case of retrenchment of workers.
Goa’s ranking in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ is a matter of concern. Please share your views on the same.
Goa’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking which was 19th in 2018 slipped to 24th in 2019. The Government’s lackadaisical attitude towards businesses was the cause for this downgrade. Goa Investment Promotion & Facilitation Board has been now assigned the task of implementing EoDB in the State. We have informed Goa-IPB that though the Government claims to put many services online and Goa’s implementation score is more than 90%, the fact remains that most of the online services are either not user-friendly or not accessible. The industry’s perception is that the online services are more cumbersome and difficult than earlier manual services. Earlier, the EoDB ranking used to depend on the implementation report submitted by the departments, but now the ranking depends on the user feedback from the industry.
How do you look at the industry in Goa in a post-Covid world?
As the coronavirus cases decrease and with the present vaccination policy of the Government of India, there is hope for the industry to normalise. The Government has allowed opening up of the economy in a phased manner in the past few months and manufacturing activity has gathered momentum. Industry in Goa depends on other States for its raw material as well as for sale of its products. In our pre-budget memorandum to the State Government, we have requested that a Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) should be introduced in line with Central Government Policy, making it mandatory for all Government Departments/Undertakings to purchase a minimum of 20% of their annual purchase of products and services from MSEs. This initiative will help the Government to increase their revenue by way of higher collection of SGST and will generate more economic activity and employment in the State
