Goa govt eyes to set up IT, ITES parks in each taluka in state

The Goa government, which has initiated the process of setting up Information Technology (IT) and IT Enabled Services (ITES) parks near Panaji, is now eyeing to establish such units in all the talukas in the state.

State IT Minister Rohan Khaunte told this to reporters here on Friday.

The state government has conceptualised IT and ITES parks at Chimbel, a village near Panaji and Porvorim, a suburb of the capital city.

"The entire focus of these parks is to generate employment for the local youths, who have to go to other states in search of jobs," Khaunte said after presenting details of the IT parks to MLAs and other stakeholders.

He added that the state government wanted to set up IT parks, which would be smaller as compared to those in metro cities.

"We would like to have these parks in each taluka so that the local youths get employment opportunities," he said.

Khaunte said the government was joining hands with multinational companies to set up "skilling academies".

"We have also started skilling academies, tying up with multinational companies to provide skills to graduates to make them industry ready. The initiative has been taken by the government to ensure that jobs are given only to Goans," he said.

According to the minister, in the last 20 months, the state government has put in place proper policy for IT, which also speaks of the incentives for investment in this sector.

"We need to make Goa an IT destination. IT industries have already started coming down. We need to put adequate infrastructure in place...backbone for the industries is in place," he said.

Khaunte said the government wanted bigcompanies to set up their base in the state, which will not only create employment opportunities for the local people, but they will also get better salary.

"The state should also look at IT as a new economic vertical," he added.