The Hindu Business Line : Goa offers single window clearance for IT projects

GOA'S new information technology (IT) policy cleared by the State Cabinet on Tuesday has promised a single window clearance on-line for investment projects and cut-down on `Inspector Raj'.

The State Government has expressed its plans to set up a special economic zone for IT as also an IT Habitat, said the Chief Minister, Mr Pratapsingh Rane.

To do away with harassment by various regulatory inspectors, the policy seeks to exempt certain important acts from the purview of IT industry. Some of these acts are Goa Pollution Control Act, Factories Act, Contract Labour Act, Minimum Wages Act, Shops and Establishment Acts, etc.

The policy would have a four-pronged approach. Firstly, it desired to promote IT infrastructure including taking bandwidth to the nook and corner of the State through Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd or by inviting the private parties for taking the network of optical fibre across the State.

Secondly, the State was planning to move more towards e-centric citizen-government interface. Thirdly, the Government has decided to promote IT as a pollution-free and knowledge based industry for generating employment.

"The Government intends to tap the rich knowledge base the State has by giving some incentives to the investors," said the Chief Minister.

Fourthly, with the help of IT industry, the Government plans to frame an IT curriculum at its training institutes for the benefit of people to prepare them for taking advantage of IT-enabled services that would be generated in a big way.

Realising that the State had failed to attract any significant investment in IT for last several years, the Minister for IT, Mr Dayanand Narvekar, had told the State Assembly in the last budget session that he would review and revise the IT policy of the erstwhile BJP-led Government so as to offer attractive incentives for industry.

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