Karnataka   

‘Investment climate turning bleak in Goa’

PANAJI: Goa’s investment climate is increasingly turning bleak as the impact of recession is adding to the already de-growth in investment and exports, according to president of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Nitin Cuncoliekar.

He told The Hindu on Sunday that while the global meltdown had resulted in bringing down the industrial growth from 10 per cent to nil with no new units arriving in the State, what was worse was high value exports from this emerging “pharma-hub” had gone into de-growth in the last couple of years.

Mr. Cuncoliekar said that the MRP-based valuation for excise, exemption of excise to States such as Himachal Pradesh had not only meant no new good industrial investment in the State in the manufacturing sector, but existing companies such as Hindustan Lever had taken their expansion projects out of Goa.

Much to the plight of the growing pharmaceutical industry here, as a matter of MRP-based valuation coupled with Goa’s failure to have local market as well as raw material base, loan and licensing had become extremely uneconomical, he said.

As regards exports, Mr. Cuncoliekar said that a serious handicap for Goa’s exporters that they had to route their exports through designated port (Mumbai) under excise adversely affected their economics.

“There is no new investment, no expansion by big groups, industry is moving to aggressively marketed States such as Gujarat and Maharashtra with big captive market for final output as well as sourcing of raw material and States such as Himachal Pradesh which had exemption from excise,” Mr. Cuncoliekar said.

At the sixth conference of Green Triangle Society on “Vision 2020, Challenges and Strategies” in the city on Friday, Mr. Cuncoliekar warned that the pressure of the economic recession was gradually forcing some of the local industries to compromise on quality production processes as well as safety at their workplace.

Mr. Cuncoliekar said that this could affect the occupational safety, health and environment of the employees.

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