Business Goa August 2020 by Business Goa

august 2020

VOL 6 ISSUE 8 panaji goa

RNI No.: goaeng/2015/59955

Postal license no.: G-2/RNP/Monthly/Goa-19/2018-20

goaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only business magazine

industry dossier

govt passes state budget for 2020-21 google pledges $10 Billion for digital india

Critical thinker and scientist Dr Raghunath A. Mashelkar proposes a 5-point strategy to overcome the technology deficit in the country

invent in india for atmanirbhar bharat Divya Sinari Starting young

Jayant Mulgaonkar Professional Dossier

Dr. Ira Almeida Lady Power

Velvin group Goan Brand

News Views Articles Interviews Profiles Focus Analysis Opinions Events Features

contents 24

Cover Story 12

Critical thinker and scientist Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar proposes a 5-point strategy to overcome the technology deficit in the country

Focus Goa: Legislation 16

The Goa State Assembly Budget Session conducted on July 27 saw 11 crucial Bills which were introduced and subsequently passed owing to avoidance of the Ordinance lapse

Focus Goa: State Budget 18

Amidst chaos, the Goa Government has passed the State Budget in a one-day session of the Assembly

Starting Young 25

Born and brought up in Goa, 22 year old Divya Sinari speaks about her venture The Cleaning Crew and its relevance, especially during COVID times

Enterprise 26

Young and ambitious entrepreneur Omkar Gaonkar conceptualises his vision of eco-friendly and green solutions to ecological concerns with Beaumonde Lifestyles

Goan Brand 27

Velvin Group showcase their eco-friendly work stations made out of corrugated cardboard and related products

National Focus 28

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced a $10 Billion ‘Google for India Digitization Fund’ to support India’s digital economy

Professional Dossier 32

Jayant P. Mulgaonkar, speaks about his experiences in the field of law, being designated ‘Senior Advocate’ and serving as President of the Goa High Court Bar Association

Lady Power 34

Dr. Ira Almeida traces her journey from practicing as a paediatrician to becoming the Director of Goa’s lone COVID hospital in Margao

Bon Appétit 42

Marlene de Noronha Meneses speaks about her famed Pastéis de Nata and bringing this Portuguese dessert to Goa; The Tiffin Factory Goa brightens your day with the best tiffin experience

COLUMNS

38 Corporate Citizen

40 Beyond Classroom

39 Wealth Doctor

41 Uncomplicate Business

Daniel Albuquerque analyses the problem of business interruption insurance or business income insurance during COVID-19 Amiya Sahu speaks about making investment choices and factors to be considered in the selection of investments

Dr. Pradeep Salgaonkar speaks about branding for and businesses that are cashing in on the COVID-19 pandemic Sunil Dias speaks about the kind of vision statements that could be detrimental to one’s business

06 Editorial 08 Corpo Scan 20 Technology 22 Mining 30 Campus 31 BookShelf 35 Social Index 37 Biz Bytes 46 Newsmakers 46 BG Quiz 04 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

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editorial Push the Envelope august 2020 Publisher & Editor Harshvardhan Bhatkuly Co-Publisher & Group Head Urvija Bhatkuly Advisory Board Datta Damodar Naik Ralph de Sousa Rajiv D’Silva Swapnil Kamat Business Head Annalise Gouveia Chief Reporter Sybil Rodrigues Admin & Accounts Ashok Kolvekar Distribution & Logistics Mayur Santinezkar Contributors in this Issue Ameya Nayak Amiya Sahu Daniel Albuquerque Dr. Pradeep Salgaonkar Sunil Dias Editorial, Advertising & Administrative Office

Business Goa

409, Citicentre, EDC Patto Plaza, Panaji, 403001 Goa India Tel.: 0832-2437822 Email: businessgoa.media@gmail.com Unsolicited material may not be returned. The opinions in columns and other stories expressed in Business Goa Industry Dossier are not necessarily that of the publishers and the Publisher/Editor shall not be held liable for any inaccuracy or otherwise. While great care is being taken to ensure accuracy of information, the publishers are not responsible for omissions or incorrect information. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publishers.

“Future shock is the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time,” said Alvin Toffler. The corona virus has spelt the death knell of many traditional working patterns. The biggest change to have emerged in the pandemic is the work from home concept. Not that this idea is alien to many of us. Since the time we have had our own laptops, many of us in some way or the other have been working from home. The big difference today is the awakening in many of us that work does not only get done at your workplace. Remote working is a bitter pill that many of us have been forced to gulp. This is more an attitudinal shift that will have serious repercussions on the commercial real estate segment. The area where our office is based – what is known as the Nariman Point of Panaji – has lots of office spaces to let out – and the demand for them has been on the slide since the outbreak of COVID-19. Earlier this June, I came across a news report that a FMCG major based in south India was shutting their headquarters and putting a major part of their office building – nearly 40,000 square feet of prime office space owned by the company on Chennai’s up-market Cenotaph Road was up for rent. The company boss, CK Ranganathan ensured that the entire staff would work from home permanently. “COVID-19 taught us that bringing people together under one roof was not good, which meant that ‘work from home’ (WFH) was a decision that we were forced to take,” said Ranganathan while talking to a news website. “Over the course of the last three months, however, we have seen productivity go up and travel time saved. In all, this totals to an employee putting in an extra 55 days per-year,” he added. According to the company, they realised that they could hire talent from anywhere across the state and let them work from their small towns, which contributed to

Harshvardhan Bhatkuly better economic dispersion since this talent would not have to come to Chennai, and to a physical office space. The company meeting efficiency also saw major improvement given that their company executives ended up speaking to the point on virtual meetings. What has emerged from this paradigm shift is that management and workers have had to rewire themselves to meet the common objective – of getting work done. Of course, it requires resolve to pull off a decision that shatters age-old practices of working from a centralised office space. It also makes you look at the big picture of the productivity that could be managed without the bells and whistles of being under one roof. The other factor is that of trust. Many managers do not trust that work gets done when their team members are at home. Agreed, our homes are not yet wired for doing work – just like no one believed that someday our children would have to attend classes from home. It all boils down to the attitudinal aspect – the faster we accept that these are unprecedented times which calls for measures hitherto untried and unexplored – the better it is for us. With cases rising in Goa, WFH is a harsh reality that has to be accepted. The economics of the matter is that business and transactions per se are at their all time low – for just about everybody. Customer interaction has ebbed. However, as an entrepreneur, one has to keep pushing the envelope to keep the momentum of one’s enterprise going. The other reality is also for those fantasising the sudden disappearance of the coronavirus – and dreaming of a post COVID world. Where I for one would welcome such an occurrence – make no mistake that the new order of work and business is already here. If your business is lucky to survive the attack of COVID, the practice of how businesses are conducted now has changed for real

Printed, published and owned by Harshvardhan V. Bhatkuly and printed at Impressions and Published at 409, Citicentre, EDC Patto Plaza, Panaji - Goa 403001. Editor: Harshvardhan V. Bhatkuly

06 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

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Corpo Scan

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Governor of Goa, Satya Pal Malik releases the 11th Anniversary Issue of Business Goa Governor of Goa, Shri Satya Pal Malik released the 11th Anniversary issue of Business Goa at a release function held at Cabo Raj Nivas. PublisherEditor of the magazine, Harshvardhan Bhatkuly was also present at the occasion. Governor Satya Pal Malik appreciated the efforts put in by the magazine for 11 years in its whole hearted focus on industry and entrepreneurship in Goa; and was all praise for highlighting the all-round coverage of all sectors of business in the State. His Excellency also said that the work of the magazine would serve as a ready-reckoner for all those interested in doing business in the state. The 11th Anniversary

Governor of Goa, Shri Satya Pal Malik released the 11th Anniversary Issue of Business Goa at a release function held at Cabo Raj Nivas. Publisher-Editor of the magazine, Harshvardhan Bhatkuly was present at the occasion

special issued showcased the 11Cs of leadership in its cover story, which focused on business leadership with leading industrialists and entrepreneurs sharing their viewpoints on different

TCP grants 65 ‘Change of Zone’ requests The Department of Town and Country Planning (TCP) has notified 65 change of zone requests in the Regional Plan 2021, wherein the affected persons have been told to submit their objections within a two-month period. Except for two proposals, the rest of the requests seek conversion of land to settlement areas under provisions of Section 16B of the TCP Act. The requests for change of zone pertain to land that is marked as orchard, natural covers and paddy fields. TCP has rejected 20 out of the 65 applications which all happen to be in Ponda taluka, as the said is earmarked as a protected reserve forest; while 9 other requests stand deferred till the slope analysis and site inspection for those lands are carried out. A TCP official said, “The remaining requests for change of zone which have been granted provisional clearance are subject to public objections and reports from the agriculture, forest and

water resource departments.” The notification further said, “The TCP Board had directed that the proposals should be published and comments from the public be sought. Further deliberation will take place after receipts of reports from relevant departments and on receipt of comments if any from the public, after two months”

aspects of leadership. Other features, interviews and expert comments by business leaders; and focus on burning industry issues also featured in the anniversary special.

Automatic Collateral-Free Term Loan for MSMEs To provide relief to MSMEs and business enterprises under pressure due to the COVID–19 crisis in the country, the Government has announced the Automatic Collateral Free Term Loan, known as the Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL). The Emergency Credit Line is to be extended in

IIA-Goa lauds TCP’s online building plan approval system

online facilities The Indian Institute and initiatives, of Architects, the Chairman of Goa has stated IIA-Goa, Arch. that the TCP’s Manguesh R online building Prabhugaonker plan approval further requested management the TCP to system is a welcome regularly update move in the right their website by direction which uploading all would ensure circulars professional and Arch Manguesh Prabhugaonker related and gazette notifications to time-bound services in the make it easier for architects to long run. refer to them without having While Indian Institute of to visit the TCP offices in Architects-Goa encouraged person the State to continue with their

08 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

Commenting on the release, publisher-editor, Harshvardhan Bhatkuly said, “Business Goa has been at the forefront of chronicling every milestone pertaining to trade, industry and entrepreneurship in the State. Over years of consistent and steadfast reportage of every aspect of business, our commitment to be the ‘Voice of Business in Goa’ has gotten stronger with every issue. The ongoing pandemic has been a huge challenge for print media, but I have to record my grateful thanks to the advertisers, subscribers and readers of the magazine for having reposed their trust in Business Goa and helped in the successful publishing of the 11th anniversary issue”

the form of additional working capital term loan facility in case of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) and Financial Institutions (FIs) and additional term loan facility in case of NonBanking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and these loans are fully guaranteed by NCGTC. Every eligible MSME or business enterprise gets a pre-approved sanction limit of up to 20% of the loan outstanding as on 29th February 2020. This is in the form of additional working capital term loan facility (in case of banks and FIs), an additional term loan facility (in case of NBFCs). This is a special scheme to help small businesses battling the economic impact of Covid-19 and includes Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) borrowers. The loan is extended for a period of four years from the date of disbursement and there will be no pre-payment charge and no processing fee for such loans

Corpo Scan

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Industry bodies ask Government to tweak SOPs for units

Goa Shipyard to build Damage Control Simulator for Indian Navy at Port Blair

Industry bodies have sought certain changes after the health department had requested industrial units in the State to adhere to certain SOPs, including suggestions to conduct random sero testing. In a joint representation, industry bodies have stated that industries, especially small SMEs, lack the ability to carry out sero surveillance in industrial estates and want the department to drop it from the SOP. Industry captains have stated that Goa government had also made thermal screening and the Arogya Setu app mandatory, which is not only impractical but also dangerous. Confederation of Indian Industry, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Goa State Industries Association and Verna Industries Association has submitted a joint representation to chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant and health minister Vishwajit Rane. Sero surveillance provides estimates of antibody levels

Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) will develop new technology enabled products with diversified designs to build a state-of-the-art Damage Control Simulator (DCS) for the Indian Navy. GSL signed the contract with the Indian Navy for setting-up of the DCS on recently. With the signing of this contract, GSL has consolidated its position in the supply of ship simulators for Damage Control. As on date, GSL has built 6 simulators of various types for the Defence Forces and has also recently exported one simulator to a neighboring country. All these GSL built simulators are in active service and are assisting the users in providing realistic simulation of possible naval scenarios at

against infectious diseases and is considered the gold standard for measuring population immunity due to past infections. Currently, sero surveillance is being utilized by the health department to assess the spread of COVID-19. The SOP issued by the health department last month had made it compulsory for each industrial unit to conduct thermal screening for all staff thrice a day, including at the workplace after lunch. In addition to this, the Arogya Setu app has to be monitored. Industry representatives stated that thermal screening in the office areas is not an issue but similar screening in the manufacturing area is unsafe and could lead to accidents. The industry associations have stated that many contract staff cannot afford smartphones and since N-95 masks are not available in adequate quantities, organizations should be allowed to use FFP2 masks for persons working in critical and packing areas

training establishments. GSL Chairman and Managing Director B B Nagpal said, “GSL is a Defence PSU shipyard known for its superior technical design and execution abilities. In last few years, the yard has been nominated for undertaking construction of 2 Frigates for Indian Navy & 5 Coast Guard OPVs. The yard has also won number of commercial / defence orders on competitive bidding and is presently in advance stage for signing of contract for construction of 2 Pollution Control Vessel for the Coast Guard. Besides this, the yard is also undertaking refits of vessels and has completed refit of 17 vessels in the past 18 months. The Yard is looking for very bright future ahead”

India prepares for Government issued ‘UNLOCK 3.0’ guidelines The nationwide Unlock 3 guidelines were issued by the Government opening up more activities outside the containment zones, but schools, colleges, metro rail service, cinema halls along with bars will continue to remain shut till August 31st and political and religious gatherings too will be prohibited. The key features of ‘Unlock 3’ in noncontainment zones are: • Restrictions on the movement of individuals during the night (Night curfew) have been removed. • Yoga institutes and gymnasiums will be allowed to open from August 5, 2020. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be issued by the Ministry

of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) for ensuring social distancing and to contain the spread of COVID-19. • Independence Day functions will be allowed with social distancing and by following other health protocols, e.g., wearing of masks etc. In this regard instructions issued by MHA on 21.07.2020 shall be followed. • International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission.

10 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

Further opening-up will take place in a calibrated manner. States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the containment zones, or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary. However, there will be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods, the MHA said. • Lockdown will continue to be implemented strictly in the containment zones till August 31, 2020. Containment zones are required to be carefully demarcated by the State/UT governments with a view to containing the spread of COVID-19, after taking into consideration the guidelines issued by Union

Health Ministry. Within the containment zones, strict perimeter control shall be maintained and only essential activities allowed. • These containment zones will be notified on the websites of the respective District Collectors and by the States/ UTs and information will also be shared with MOHFW. • Activities in the containment zones will be monitored strictly by State and UT authorities, and the guidelines relating to containment measure in these zones will be strictly implemented. • MOHFW will monitor the proper delineation of containment zones and the implementation of the containment measures

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Lupin Pharma launches ‘Covihalt’

Well known Pharma manufacturer Lupin Ltd. has announced the launch of generic ‘favipiravir’ under the name ‘Covihalt’ for treatment of those who develop mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given authorization to favipiravir for emergency usage. The Covihalt dosage has been

designed by keeping the convenience of administration in mind. The drug is available at Rs. 49 per tablet in the form of a strip of 10 tablets of 200 mg. President of the India Regions Formulations (IRF) Rajeev Sibal has stated that COVID-19 is a global pandemic and India is currently witnessing a surge in cases on a daily basis and during such difficult times, it is their duty to support the country in every way possible to fight the virus and ensure availability of affordable drugs for affected patients. Sibal believes that ‘Covihalt’ is a crucial step in this direction and that they

can leverage their expertise in managing widespread community diseases like TB to proactively reach patients across India and make sure that ‘Covihalt’ is accessible through their network of distribution and field force. Giving his opinion on this development, National Secretary, Indian Chest Society Dr Rajesh Swarnakar has said that it is imperative, during such pandemics, to enforce rapid health management efforts which include disease control through safe and effective medication. “Favipiravir has shown excellent results in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19. We are optimistic about its indispensable role in combating the disease”, he further said

Popular sweet ‘Khaje’ receives Geographical Indication tag A Geographical Indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which correspond to a specific geographical location or origin (a town, region, or country). The GI tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorised users (or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name. ‘Khaje’, the traditional Goan sweet, predominant at every temple and church fair across the length and breadth of Goa, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) notification

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 11

cover Story

invent in india for atmanirbhar bharat 12 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

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Critical thinker and scientist Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar proposes a 5-point strategy to overcome the technology deficit in the country

aghunath A Mashelkar, former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is of the opinion that India needs to reinvent the ‘Make in India’ programme. “We do not need just assembled in India but need invented in India, designed in India and then manufactured in India failing which, we will continue to

By ameya nayak

remain vulnerable,” Mashelkar told India’s management leaders through an online dialogue organized recently by All India Management Association (AIMA). He also spoke of how our nation can become ‘atmanirbhar’ (selfreliant) only with the right amount of ‘atmavishwas’ (self confidence) in ourselves. Shedding light on the business scenario in India,

Mashelkar pointed out how trading in India was easier than to make in India, owing to extreme bureaucracy and that businesses of varying sizes had to comply with thousands of compliances on a daily basis. He also spoke of the many impediments in the path of ‘Make in India’ which the Prime Minister himself has acknowledged such as land, labour, law, logistics,

among others. The senior scientist cited the example of mobile phone assembly in India in which the Chinese had a 9% share about five years ago and today, they command a 68% share in the same. He also pointed out as to how the share of Indian companies in the sector has dwindled from 45% to a meager 7% over the last five years. Questioning

Global thinker with Goan Roots D

By sybil rodrigues

r. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar is one of India’s most eminent scientists and is known for his contributions to India’s National Chemical Laboratory and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, multiple ‘Mashelkar Committees’, and a successful campaign against foreign patents on traditional Indian knowledge. A multi-faceted personality, Dr. Mashelkar has many firsts to his name. He was the longest serving Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) from 1995-2006; the Chairman of National Innovation Foundation from 2004-06; President of Indian National Science Academy from 200406; and also the President of Global Research Alliance from 2007-18. He has been honoured with doctorates from 42 universities worldwide, which includes Universities of London, Salford, Pretoria, Wisconsin, Swinburne Monash and Delhi. Dr Mashelkar has many firsts to his credit. He was the first Indian to win the most prestigious TWAS-Lenovo Science Prize (2018), which is considered as mini-Nobel Prize for developing world

Dr Raghunath Mashelkar receives Goa’s highest civilian honour ‘Gomant Vibhushan’ in 2013 from then Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo and then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar

scientists. He was the first Indian from India to be elected as Fellow of US National Academy of Inventors (2017); first Asian Scientist to win the Business Week (USA) award of ‘Stars of Asia’ at the hands of George Bush (Sr.), the former President of USA; and the first and only scientist to win the JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award (1998), so far. He is only the third Indian engineer to have been elected as Fellow of Royal Society since 1660; seventh Indian scientist to have been elected as Foreign Fellow of US National Academy of Science since 1863, and seventh Indian to have been elected as Foreign Associate of American Academy of Arts & Science since 1780.

In post-liberalized India, Dr. Mashelkar has played a critical role in shaping the nation’s science, technology and innovation policies

Dr. Mashelkar has been on the Board of Directors of India’s most reputed companies, which include Reliance Industries Ltd. to Tata Motors Ltd. and Hindustan Unilever Ltd., In post-liberalized India, Dr. Mashelkar has played a critical role in shaping the nation’s science, technology and innovation policies. He was a member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister established by successive governments for thirty years. Throughout his career,

he has written 25 books, 284 research papers, and has been awarded honorary doctorates by 42 universities from India and abroad. He has also actively served the Government of India by chairing 12 highly empowered ‘Mashelkar Committees’, and has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. His contributions to the nation and to science at large have been honoured by a plethora of awards, the most significant being the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Shri, the Business Week ‘Star of Asia’ Award, and the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology. Currently, Dr. Mashelkar is the President of the Global Research Alliance, which is the world’s largest network of publicly funded R&D institutes that work together to achieve millennium development goals. He is also the Chairperson of the National Innovation Foundation of India, which aims at promoting grassroots innovations to solve some of society’s biggest problems. He is an ambassador and evangelist for innovation and R&D across the world and serves on the boards of many leading companies

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 13

cover Story these statistics as to why India’s share has reduced drastically on its own land while the Chinese have made progress in our country, Mashelkar said, “India stuck to trading while the Chinese went on to innovate, create customisations and focussed on novel customer needs!” Mashelkar further pointed out to the case of pharmaceutical APIs wherein India used to be self sufficient but quit production due to imports from China becoming cheaper and easier. The processes followed by the Chinese were not eco-friendly with their costing being opaque, he said. However, he expressed his happiness over how the Government of India is taking steps to change its policy in the right direction. The online session was moderated by Sanjay Kirloskar, President AIMA and Chairman and Managing Director, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd; and anchored by Rekha Sethi, Director General AIMA. Offering his comments during the session, Kirloskar pointed out that during COVID-19 pandemic, most nations decided to opt for self-sufficiency following the breakdown in global supply chains and trust among nations. He further said that India’s own attitude had toughened mainly against imports from China after the border violence episode and the banning of Chinese apps was pin-pointing towards India’s self-confidence in replacing them with locally developed apps. In this regard, Mashelkar proposed a five-point strategy in order to make India more self-reliant and self sufficient. He enlisted: • Buy • Make • Buy to make better • Make to buy better and • Making together These are ways to overcome the technology related shortfall that India is

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Dr Raghunath Mashelkar receives India’s second highest civilian honour ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2014 from then president Pranab Mukherjee

experiencing. He made a mention of the Prime Minister’s five pillars in order to achieve an ‘atmanirbhar’ Bharat which are economy, infrastructure, systems, demography and demand; and further said that these five pillars along with the five pillars that he has suggested for innovation and technology need to supplement each other to make India a superpower by itself. Mashelkar cited the instance of Sony’s purchase of transistor patents from the United States of America to make better products than the Americans to illustrate how buying technology can help. To materialize the idea of ‘buy to make better’, India needed critical components from China in various sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics and capital goods. Mashelkar specified how India’s strategy has to be ‘less China’ and not ‘no China’. He mentioned how India is heavily dependent on China not just for technology but also for components required in order to create that technology! Mashelkar spoke of how we need to have ‘strategic patience’, a term coined by Dr. Vijay Kelkar, wherein he explained the manner in which we need to have a grand strategy ready at our disposal before we

14 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

take the decision to entirely boycott China and Chinese goods. He further illustrated the ‘making to buy better’ point by citing the example of India making the ‘Param 10000’ super-computer entirely on its own to put across to America that denying technology to India would result in India becoming its prime competitor. He then spoke of how ‘making it together’ was the critical aspect for development of novel technology and applications in the country. He spoke of the creation of a publicprivate partnership namely the ‘New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative’, while stressing upon the word ‘leadership’ as the need of the hour is to become leaders and not remain followers. He argued that the Government of India needs to take fiscal risks and the private partner must pay back only if the project succeeds. He said that the Government also has to take the risk in procurement in order to promote startups which face ban or barring characteristically because of tender-related circumstances. Highlighting factors which are necessary to make India self-reliant, Mashelkar spoke of how allowing overseas competitors in is a vital factor

for achieving the dream of an ‘atmanirbhar’ Bharat. “India needs to develop global standards and not local ones, because Indian companies will continue to remain small and confined to India. We cannot go back to the License Raj,” he emphasised. Mashelkar expressed disappointment over how India had the required talent and technology but lacked trust. According to him, India’s biggest challenge remains its deficiency on the trust front rather than the budget front. At this juncture, he cited the example of Simputer, which was made just for India and was way ahead of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy mobile phones; however, it failed to get acceptance only because the trust factor was missing. He also gave an example of a Dengue test developed by an Indian company which found no takers till the epidemic hit at which time; the developer did not have sufficient stock of the test kits. Nonetheless, he pointed out that during COVID times, Indian startups, IITs and CSIR have been quick to develop the COVID testing kits and ventilators, largely because of lack of availability of imports. Mashelkar elaborated further, saying that India and Indians, especially the new generation was thinking beyond limits of self-reliance and has the requisite self-confidence to make Indian companies shine on the global map. He asserted how the Indian youth do not want to follow footsteps of the likes of Satya Nadela and Sundar Pichai and go overseas to find jobs and rise to CEO positions. He said that they aspire to build Microsofts and Googles right here in India itself. This online session with Mashelkar witnessed an audience of more than 800 people through video conferencing and was broadcast live on various social media platforms

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mashelkar’s goa vision 2035 & roadmap

By ameya nayak

ashelkar, who was born in 1943 in the village of Marcela in Goa, had in the year 2012, charted out the goals towards achievement of a progressive State in the ‘Goa 2035: Vision and Road Map’ document that was presented to the Government. While mentioning that Goa has to become a model State and what Goa does today, India will do tomorrow, Mashelkar had expressed a deep desire for Goa to take the lead in the field of research and innovation. Through the Goa Vision 2035 document, Mashelkar set out a seven-fold plan of achieving certain goals for the State by the year 2035. This seven point agenda inculcates: • Creating ‘suramya’ or serene and beautiful Goa

– where the focus is on preserving Goa’s natural beauty in every possible way; and to make Goa such that people visit the State not just to see it but to ‘experience’ what Goa truly is. • Preserving ‘susanskrit’ or cultured Goa – where the emphasis is on making Goa a unique State in the field of art and culture and aiding it to emerge as a State that affords people an opportunity to experience its culture at the highest levels. • Creating ‘santulit’ or balanced Goa – where the focus is on aiding the State to achieve balance between conflicting demands and reaching for development without destruction while paying utmost attention to its ecosystem and maintaining unity amongst diversity of

religions and languages. • Building a ‘suvidya’ or knowledge centric and enlightened Goa – where the vision is to make Goa suitable to the requirements of the 21st century, which is a century of the mind and of knowledge; and motivate every Goan to strive and become an enlightened knowledge worker. • Creating a ‘samruddha’ or affluent Goa – the vision here was to make Goa affluent within a generation and rethink its strategy for economic growth in order to keep up with the trend of maintaining its GDP per capita levels. • Creating a ‘sushasit’ or well-governed Goa – where the focus is on giving highest priority to good governance and enable Goa to emerge as

the most well-governed State in India; and finally • Ensuring ‘swanandi’ or a happy Goa – where the vision is to make Goa a State with happiness that goes beyond satisfaction and material well-being; where happiness is not considered a measure of growth but a measure of people’s well-being and feelings. This Vision document was drafted and submitted to the then Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar on July 11th, 2012; however, the report could not be implemented. Nonetheless, seven years later in 2019, the present Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant has expressed his desire to take steps to implement Mashelkar’s vision for the all-round development of the State

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 15

focus goa / Legislation

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House passes 11 crucial Bills amidst hurried one-day Goa Assembly Budget Session The Goa State Assembly Budget Session conducted on July 27 witnessed utter chaos as 11 crucial Bills were introduced and subsequently passed owing to avoidance of the Ordinance lapse

By ameya nayak

eading to an absolute ruckus in the House, the Goa Legislative Assembly in its one-day monsoon session passed 11 important Bills which include The Goa Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill 2020, The Goa Motor Vehicles Tax (3rd Amendment) Bill 2020, The Industrial Disputes (Goa Amendment) Bill 2020, The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) (Goa Amendment) Bill 2020, The Factories (Goa Amendment) Bill 2020, The Goa (Recovery of Arrears of Tax through Settlement) (Amendment) Bill 2020, The Goa Goods and Services Tax (2nd Amendment) Bill 2020, The Court Fee (Goa Amendment) Bill 2020, The Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill 2020, The Goa Value Added Tax (12th Amendment) Bill 2020 and The Indian Stamp (Goa Amendment) Bill 2020. As far as the business, trade and industry in the State is concerned, we have highlighted a few details of the Bills passed during this one-day session: 1) The Industrial Disputes Bill, 2020 sought to amend section 2-A of the 1947 Act wherein it was considered expedient to provide a time limit with regards to raising disputes. The Bill thus provides a time limit of one year for raising industrial disputes covered under sub section (1) of Section 2-A of the said Act by way of insertion of sub-section (4). Further, the time limit in subsection (3) has been reduced from three years to one year in order to achieve speedy

disposal of disputes arising out of discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination of workmen and disputes raised after several years that cause difficulty in settling the same. The Bill also amends Section 25-F clause (b) to enhance the payment of 15 days average pay to payment of 45 days average pay for completed years of continuous service in relation to retrenchment. Further, Section 25-N sub-section (9) has also been amended that makes the process of retrenchment and closure less painful and tedious for both employers and employees. Section 25-K of the Act has been substituted to increase number of workmen from 100 to 300 with the aim to encourage employers to employ more workers in industrial establishments. Moreover, while a new section namely Section 31-A has been inserted to make a provision for compounding offences under the Act; the Bill also sought to insert Section 36-C to empower the State Government from provisions of the Act thus encouraging investors to set up new industries. No financial implications are involved in this Bill. 2) The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) (Goa Amendment) Bill 2020 aims at increasing the threshold limit of

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applicability of the 1970 Act from 20 to 50 or more contractual employees with the object of facilitating the initiatives undertaken in the field of labour reforms. As a result of this amendment, establishments and contractors employing less than 50 workers as contract labour will not be required to register or obtain a license under the Act. This is a significant change for establishments with small scale operations and those who rely on outsourced work force for their activities. Further, the Bill sought to insert a new Section 25-A that makes a provision for compounding offences under the Act. No financial implications are involved in this Bill. 3) The Factories (Goa Amendment) Bill 2020 was passed with a view to provide a much needed boost to the manufacturing sector in order to facilitate the ease of doing business and create more employment opportunities. The Bill sought to amend Section 2(m)(i) wherein the words ten or more workers are substituted with twenty or more workers and Section 2(m)(ii) wherein the words twenty or more workers are substituted with forty or more workers. It further amends Section 85 of the Act wherein the existing threshold limit on number of workers for

applicability of the Act is elevated from 10 or more workers to 20 or more workers for power aided factories and from 20 or more workers to 40 or more workers for nonpower aided factories. It also sought to insert a new section namely Section 5-A in the said Act, so as to enable the State Government to exempt, subject to such conditions as it may think fit, any new factory or class or description of new factories which are established and whose commercial production start, from all or any of the provisions of the Act for a period of one thousand days from the date on which such commercial production starts, so as to create more economic activities and employment opportunities. 4) The Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill 2020 sought to amend Sections 2, 16, 16-A, 17-A and 44 of the 1974 Act so as to exclude activities undertaken in pursuance of permissions and licenses granted under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and rules made there under. The financial memorandum of the said Bill estimated approximately Rs. 1 Crore which will be generated by way of renewing and approving grant of quarrying leases which are currently unable to be processed due to the conflict between the Legislature and the issue of new quarrying leases. 5) The Goa Value Added Tax (12th Amendment) Bill 2020 sought to amend the 2005 Act, in the light of the recent judgment of the

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Hon’ble High Court based on the interpretation of Section 33 of the Goa VAT Act, 2005 read with Rule 30 of the Goa VAT Rules, 2005 regarding payment of interest on refund of Tax. This Bill sought to amend Section 10(3) and fixed the time limit of giving refund from 3 months from the date of order of the sanctioning authority in case of an application for refund. This Bill further sought to insert sub section (10) to Section 29 of the Act fixing a time limit for the assessing authority to submit a refund proposal to the sanctioning authority. This Bill also sought to amend Section 33(2) thereby fixing a time limit of giving refund from 90 days from date of order of the sanctioning authority in case of an application for refund under Section 10(3). This Bill does not involve any recurring or non-recurring expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the State. 6) The Goa Goods and Services Tax (2nd Amendment) Bill 2020 amends clauses (b), (c) and (d) of Section 10(2) of the 2017 Act to correspond with the eligibility conditions for opting to pay tax under Section 10 (1) and (2A) of the Act. It amends Section 16(4) to delink the date of issuance of the debit note from the date of issuance of the underlying invoice for purposes of availing input tax credit, Section 29(1)(c) to provide for cancellation voluntarily obtained registration under Section 25(3), substitutes the provision to Section 30(1) to empower the Additional Commissioner and Commissioner to extend the time limit for filing an application to revoke cancellation of registration, amends Section 31 to empower the Government to notify categories of services and supplies with respect to tax invoices will be issued

These amendments have been brought into force as there were representations made to the Government by all concerned parties. Let us hope that these amendments will be in the interest of the management as well as labour class, which will ultimately lead to the benefit of Goa!” Adv. Prasanna Chawdikar and make related rules, amends Section 51, thereby empowering the Government to make rules for proving the manner in which a certificate of tax deduction at source shall be issued and omits sub section (4). This Bill further sought to insert a new sub-section namely (1A) to Section 122 of the Act making the beneficiary of certain transactions liable for penalty. Moreover, it amends various other vital sections of the Act such as Sections 132, 140, 172, etc. this Bill also, does not involve any recurring or nonrecurring expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of the State. Procedurally speaking, since the Goa Government had passed the ordinances with respect to the above Bills, the Bills were then introduced in the House and have to be passed within a period of six months failing which the ordinances lapse. Commenting on these amendments made to the labour laws, Adv. Prasanna Chawdikar, well known labour law practitioner from Goa, said that the need to amend the above legislations arose solely due to the COVID-19 pandemic as not only the state but the nation and the globe is facing difficult times. The Centre as well as State Governments, with a view to combat the virus have issued several Notifications, Circulars, Guidelines and Orders for the citizens and Employers (be it Advisory or

Orders). He further said, “It is pertinent to note that the lockdown announced by the Prime Minister of India came into effect from 25th March 2020. As a result, all movements, whether men or materials related came to a complete standstill (essential services being exempted). There could neither be any manufacturing, trading, imparting services or ability to provide work, nor were employees in a position to discharge their obligations. The entire industry was struggling to support both the working class as well as industrialists. These amendments have been brought into force as there were representations made to the Government by all the concerned parties. Let us hope that these amendments will be in the interest of the management as well as labour class, which will ultimately lead to the benefit

of Goa!” Offering his comments on The Goa Goods and Services Tax (2nd Amendment) Bill 2020, Chartered Accountant Gaurav Kenkre says, “Besides the amendments already mentioned, there are two more very important amendments to the Act. Firstly, Section 168A has been introduced which can be referred to as a ‘Force majeure’ section, necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This provision gives the Government powers to notify extension in time limits of various compliances, on account of war, epidemic, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake or any other calamity caused by nature and is a welcome move. Further, the validity of Section 172 has been extended from three years to five years. Section 172 empowered the Government to notify any changes for the ‘removal of difficulties’ in implementing the GST Act. This provision was initially seen as useful for the early stages of GST implementation and was kept active only till 30/06/2020 (i.e. three years from date of introduction of GST). Now the same has been expanded to five years, thus adding two more years where the Government can issue such ‘removal of difficulty’ orders. In the past, it has been seen that these have normally helped the trade at large!”

“Section 168 A is introduced which can be referred to as a ‘Force majeure’ section, necessitated by the ongoing pandemic. This provision gives the Government powers to notify extension in time limits of various compliances, on account of war, epidemic, etc and is a welcome move” CA Gaurav Kenkre

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 17

focus goa / State budget

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State Budget of Goa for the year 2020-21 Amidst chaos, Goa Government has passed the State Budget in a one-day session of the Assembly

By sybil rodrigues

he State Budget for the year 2020-2021 was passed by Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant amidst ruckus created by the Opposition benches during the one-day session of the Goa Legislative Assembly. This move drew widespread criticism from all quarters as the Government passed the `21000 crore Budget without any discussion and after the entire opposition had been evicted from the House. The budget for the current financial year projects a revenue surplus of `353.6 crore with the total budgetary allocation being pegged at `21,056.3 crore as against `19,548.6 crore in 2019-2020. Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, who also holds the finance portfolio, had presented the State Budget in February this year, much before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State. The Budget presented then had the following allocations. `14,906 as revenue expenditure while `5,069 was earmarked for capital works. 28.5% of the State’s earnings are utilized towards developmental works and maintenance of existing infrastructure. 36.9% of the State’s earnings go towards salaries, wages, pension, gratuity and grant-in-aid; 2% goes towards subsidies and 12.7% goes towards debt repayment. This was much before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state. The cash strapped Government has passed a surplus Budget and this fact was not lost on many financial experts who are of the opinion that it was a trifle façade of numbers and the government was never serious about it. While passing the Budget, Sawant admitted that the State economy had been hit

“The ongoing COVID crisis has had a major impact on the State’s economy. The revenue receipts, which were estimated in the Budget, have declined drastically. But despite that, the government has managed to run the state”

dr pramod sawant

Chief Minister, Goa

hard due to the Covid -19 pandemic. “The ongoing crisis has had a major impact on the State’s economy. The revenue receipts, which were estimated in the Budget, have declined drastically. But despite that, the government has managed to run the state,” he said. Dr. Sawant further said that the Budget that was presented on the floor of the House was an estimated one and it needs to be passed considering the requirements to tackle the corona virus and its management.

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Dr. Sawant also stated that since March the State government has not lacked anywhere in COVID management and they have been completely transparent on the issue. The Chief Minister mentioned that after the unlocking of the industrial sector, the State has been gaining revenue. The government is hopeful that the economic situation will normalize in the days to come. “We will be able to review the infrastructural work so also recruitments in the departments,” he added. Dr. Sawant stated that he did not have any issues with discussing the Budget but this was not the right time as the urgency was to pass the estimated Budget. Some of the key points from the Budget speech are listed below. • Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant announced several infrastructure projects in the hinterland and promised to complete around 50 ongoing projects that Goa State Infrastructure Corporation Ltd has in its portfolio. • Creeks and water bodies, especially the St Inez creek will be rejuvenated. • Geographical Indication (GI) for several local vegetables and fruits such as ladyfingers, brinjals,

‘Mancurad’ mangoes and others would be obtained. • Hinterland tourism, eco tourism and adventure tourism would be promoted, as well as a tourist guide support scheme has been announced to help tourists. • Heritage circuit for Bicholim and Sattari and efforts to build a Tribal Bhavan. • A one lakh insurance cover has been announced for all cooperative societies. • The Chief Minister stressed on the ‘ease of doing business’ for industries. He also announced a labour and employment smart card for all employees in Goa to gather data on employment in the State. • In order to reduce mananimal conflicts and to discourage monkeys and birds from venturing into farms, Goa will grow fruit bearing trees in forests. • Goa will reconstitute the state finance commission in order to oversee the utilization of funds and to support lower tiers of governance. • A medical college in south Goa will be set up through public-private partnership. • `250 crore allocated to hold the National Games in Goa. • Government will ensure completion of coast zone management plan. • Integrated inspection

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plaza at all entry points. • Plans to modernize the Goa Police Force; has been announced. • The long pending advertisement bill to be implemented • In the coming financial year, a legislation to protect journalists from violence and threats will be introduced. • Dr. Sawant announced that 50 electrical buses along with charging stations will be purchased for Kadamba Transport Corporation. • The first flight from the Greenfield airport at Mopa will take off in the first quarter of 2022. • There is a proposal to complete underground cabling to ensure continuous power supply to domestic users and industries. • The Government wants each bottle of liquor sold to carry a hologram to track genuineness of the bottle. • To fill up the revenue gaps, Dr. Sawant announced an increase in excise duty on liquor, hike in notified land prices and stamp duty. • Goa to levy a professional tax on professionals in rural and urban areas. Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat had moved an “adjournment motion” in the State Assembly seeking a discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic, which was not admitted by the Speaker, following which the opposition benches rushed to the well of the House. While the opposition, including members of Congress, Goa Forward Party, MGP and an Independent members, continued pressing for a discussion on the adjournment motion, the Government passed the Budget. If the Government tried to push its way through the Budget and a host of legislations, the opposition also made sure that they had their say among the people and managed to grab eyeballs on social media. The

“The Government will have to borrow a minimum of `3000 crore to meet its capital and revenue requirements. Where are you going to get `300 crore from? Besides this, in the Budget there is a provision to borrow `2,200 crore. Is it prudent to borrow `5000 crore in a year?” digambar kamat Leader of Opposition

speaker removed the sloganshouting opposition members from the House in order to pass the Budget. This gave the opposition a chance to create a perception that the Government was not serious in putting up a united front to battle the deadly virus. The Government’s passing of the Budget without any discussion and the speaker rejecting the adjournment motion gave much substance to the opposition over Covid management in the state, which has seen people losing their lives to the virus. The opposition caused much embarrassment to the state government as they met Governor Satya Pal Malik and urged him to recommend President’s Rule in the State. Opposition leader Digambar Kamat appraised the Governor that the government didn’t allow the adjournment motion to come up for discussion fearing mismanagement and irregularities in handling of the Covid crisis would be exposed. Kamat stated that the

Chief Minister had made no effort while preparing his Budget Speech and had resorted to juggling with fiscal figures to try and conceal the actual nature of the state’s finances. Kamat said that schemes and figures read out by the Chief Minister were a repetition of those made by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, while also blaming the BJP-government’s policies for weakening the state’s finances, stating that it would put a burden of `1.3 lakh on every Goan. “The Government will have to borrow a minimum of `3000 crore to meet its capital and revenue requirements. Where are you going to get `300 crore from? Besides this, in the Budget there is a provision to borrow `2,200 crore. Is it prudent to borrow `5000 crore in a year?” Kamat questioned. Kamat further stated

that the Chief Minister had not put in much effort in his budget speech. The schemes were the same and there was nothing new in the Budget. “The Budget was presented in February and we are discussing it in July,” he added. In the opposition’s absence, the Government passed the Budget for 202021 and the demands for all departments. The State Assembly passed the Goa appropriation (no.2) Bill, 2020, empowering the government to withdraw over `21,056 crore from the state’s consolidated fund for the financial year 2020-21. The Assembly also passed supplementary grants for `286 crore (Disclaimer: The key points from the Budget Speech, mentioned in the article are taken from the Chief Minister’s Budget speech presented in February this year)

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 19

focus goa / technology

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GTA questions Government’s move for a suggests utilising 10% of funds for companies’ survival new Startup Policy GTA rather than designing IT Park during the pandemic G

By sybil rodrigues

oa Technology Association is the only representative body of the Technology companies in Goa. The GTA which was founded in April 2017 has gathered momentum in their quest for creating serious business for tech companies in Goa. The body represents Electronics System Design and Manufacturing, Tech, BPOs and IOT companies. The GTA has 70 odd companies as its members and it has not been an easy task for GTA, IT companies or start ups during the ongoing COVID 19 crisis coupled with the lockdown. The Association held its third Annual General Meeting (AGM) online calling, “2019 as a wonderful year for GTA and thought to make 2020 grand.” GTA has expressed its surprise over the state government’s move to come out with a new startup policy stating that some startups are yet to benefit out of the existing policy, while the existing Goa IT Policy has not been fully implemented. Further GTA has clearly stated that instead of spending money on designing of an IT Park, at least 10 per cent of the allotted budget could help the companies survive in the pandemic. GTA President Mangirish Salelkar has suggested that the government should continue with the existing policies which were drafted along with inputs from former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Salelkar said, “GTA has not been invited to be part of any drafting committee and we need to understand the need to revamp the policy. While The IT policy is not fully implemented, many startups in the State are yet to be benefitted from the Startup Policy.”

“GTA has not been invited to be part of any drafting committee and we need to understand the need to revamp the policy” Mangirish Salelkar

President, Goa Technology Association

GTA has further stated that they supported the IT Park in the past, but given the pandemic and its economic effects, the need of the hour is to speed up the disbursement to IT or startups instead of approving crores of money to design consultants for the project consultation of the IT Park. “If even 10 per cent of that amount was to be disbursed to the existing IT or startup companies and to improve the infrastructure and last mile internet/ broadband connectivity in the State, we would have been in a position to create so many jobs and add to the economy of the State. In another forum, it was discussed that there will be a new Telecom Policy. No concrete news or updates received on that, so far.” Salelkar has gone on to state that their agenda is not against any decision makers of the government. “They should not ignore the only IT association connected with all the IT and startup companies in the State. We expect complete support on the issues faced and brought up by us multiple times.”

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He further added that the Work from Home (WFH) was a complete new phenomenon and a total nightmare for many of the companies. He mentioned that some companies had to deliver desktops and laptops to their team members in order to work from home. Some of the team members live in villages across Goa and not all have access to internet facilities. “The COVID situation left all of us in shock. Many industries were hit very badly. Everyone felt that IT is the best industry and while it initially felt like that, the ripple effect caused us to get directly or indirectly affected. Every week we are evaluating our business plans and most of it has gone for a toss as things are still unpredictable.” Salelkar added that startups who provide IT services to hospitality and travel industries took the worst hit as tourism came to a complete halt during the pandemic. The change in H-1B visa rules in the US has also added to the woes of the industry as several Goans in the IT sector have returned

back home. Salelkar said, “During the ongoing pandemic, GTA donated a sum of Rs one lakh towards Chief Minister’s Relief Fund as well to help the Government in tackling COVID-19 issue.” “As President of the Association, I have been actively interacting with the members who have been hit and wanted guidance from me or GTA to handle these difficulties. During the renewal process we thought of deferring the renewals by three months, as some are struggling with finances, and have chosen to take a backseat this year,” added Salelkar. Given the issues plaguing IT companies, Salelkar had requested the IT department to utilize the funds earmarked for the IT Park to sustain startups and IT companies which have been affected by COVID-19 and the subsequent economic crisis. GTA members said that the communication and productivity have taken a hit due to poor internet connectivity and despite raising these issues with the Government, telecom companies and internet service providers, the problem still persists. GTA conducted a survey in April 2020 this year which gave them a complete insight on the companies that have been affected. Some of these companies were expecting some aid from the government for their business continuity and this survey was later presented to the Chief Minister and IT Minister. Salelkar pointed out that the industry had sought support from the Chief Minister and Minister for Information and Technology, Jennifer Monserrate, but despite assurances, nothing much has been done to change the ground reality

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Government insists that the new Startup Policy has followed a consultative approach with stakeholders

he Department of Information and Technology (DoIT), has replied to Goa’s IT and startup stakeholders claim to be in the dark about the Goa Startup Policy 2020. The DoIT stated that the government has adopted a “consultative and participatory approach” while preparing the revamped policy. Information Technology Minister Jennifer Monserrate, who heads the Department, said that the Startup Promotion Cell (SPC) held consultations with government departments, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and startup ecosystem stakeholders. A department official

stated that the SPC had been conducting online surveys and consultations for over a month; with all startup ecosystem stakeholders and detailed feedback and policy inputs of 105 had been received. Currently, 88 startups have been certified by the SPC and of these, Startup India and DPIIT have recognized 69 startups. The SPC estimates around 50 startups in Goa and 12 incubators cum coworking spaces. The statements come after the Goa Technology Association questioned the government’s move to revise the existing startup policy where several startups have failed to benefit from the startup schemes. Officials said that the “growing conjecture

InfoTech Minister Jennifer Monserrate said that the Startup Promotion Cell (SPC) held consultations with government departments, the DPIIT and startup ecosystem stakeholders and speculation” about Goa Startup Policy 2020 had to be addressed. The Goa Startup Policy

2017 offered 14 incentives and the SPC has received 77 applications from startups for these schemes. Of these 77 applications, 68 startups applied for just three schemes, while nine applications were for five schemes. The remaining six schemes got no takers, the Department said. The Goa Startup Policy 2017 expires in September this year. The IT department also said that the Goa Startup Policy 2020 is being designed with a post COVID-19 world in mind. “The SPC and DoIT have an open door policy, encouraging and welcoming all ecosystem stakeholders and request they too adorn the same constructive and participative approach,” said the Department

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 21

focus goa / mining

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State for tagging of related mining petitions in Supreme Court

he State Government has moved an application before the Supreme Court of India to have its review petition in the mining cases tagged with the one filed by companies seeking extension of their mining leases till the year 2037. The State Government has filed the said review petition in the previous year against the Order of the Court delivered in February 2018 which quashed the second renewal of the 88 mining leases, thereby bringing mining activities in the State to a standstill. In view of the same, the Supreme Court, last month, had adjourned the hearing in the crucial Goa mining case which impacts mining resumption to August 18th 2020. Commenting on the development, Advocate General of Goa, Devidas Pangam said, “We want the Supreme Court to take up both matters together so that we can argue the matters on the common points pertaining to arguments on the Mines and Minerals

“We want the Supreme Court to take up both matters together so that we can argue the matters on the common point pertaining to arguments on the MMDR (Amendment) Act, 2015”

Devidas Pangam

Advocate General of Goa

Development and Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2015.” Pangam further said that as per the 2015 amendment, mining companies have stated that the lease period must be for 50 years and that this point has not been considered by Goa Foundation. Moreover, Pangam added that post the

Supreme Court judgment in the Goa Foundation case, there is another judgment in a common case that interprets the Goa Foundation case which has not been considered and this happens to be the view of both the mining companies and the State, as well.

After the High Court dismissed the pleas of the mining companies challenging the Goa, Daman and Diu (Abolition and Declaration of Mining Leases) Act, 1987, the companies had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) stating that the Mining Act must be made applicable from 1987 instead of 1961. The State Government, in its argument before the Supreme Court had stated that the mining companies had made a representation to the Mines Department contending that they are entitled to extend their mining leases up to the year 2037, as per the amendment to Section 8-A of the MMDR Act; however, it would abide by the Supreme Court’s decision. The State Government further said that the mining concessions that were granted by the Portuguese regime were converted into mining leases under the MMDR Act from the year 1987 and as a consequence, 50 years mining leases as contemplated under Section 8-A of the Act would be extended up to 2037

Government agrees to recover `3431 crore dues from errant mining companies

he State government has agreed to the demands of a petition filed by NGO Goa Foundation seeking directions to recover `3,431 crore from mining companies on several occasions within a time frame. After Devidas Pangam, Goa’s Advocate General told the High Court of Bombay at Goa that the amount was recoverable, the High Court bench recorded the undertaking of the State government that orders would be passed on all demand notices issued to the mining companies within a period of four months. The Court recorded that the Director of Mines would first deal with the demand notices issued (for `1,508 crore) to mining companies

pursuant to the report of the team of chartered accountants appointed by the former chief minister, Manohar Parrikar. Thereafter, the Department would enforce the notices raised pursuant to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in his 2016 reports (`1,922 crore). The total of both reports amounts to `3431.31 crore. The demand notices on the report of the team of chartered accountants were issued in 2016. Those pursuant to the CAG report were issued in 2017. These notices were produced by the Goa government to prove its bona fides during the hearing of the writ petition filed by Goa Foundation challenging the grant of 88 mining leases. The Supreme Court, in its

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judgment setting aside the 88 mining lease orders, has also directed the Goa government to recover the amounts for which the notices have been issued. Till date, the State government has recovered only `4 crore from the errant mining companies, even as the notices were first issued by the Mines and Geology Department in 2017. Goa Foundation has filed a petition before the High Court bench for recovery of dues, claiming the government was dragging its feet in the recovery processes. The writ petition pleaded, “After conducting enquiries and also relying upon enquiries done by the Auditor General, Goa, demand notices for `3431.31 crores were

issued to various parties for recovery.” Two other petitions filed by the NGO for recovery from mining companies are pending hearing before the High Court. The first involves the recovery of around `1000 crore from mining companies that mined without being in possession of a valid mining lease. A second PIL demands recovery of `65,058 crore due from the entire mining industry for conducting mining operations without being in possession of a mining lease for five years (2007-2012). The committee of chartered accountants was established following the revelation of `35,000 crore illegal mining scam recorded by the Justice M.B. Shah Commission in 2012 www.businessgoa.in

festive special

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Celebrating the Remover of Obstacles

Ganesh Chaturthi is a time for feasting and revelry; but this year, the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures will pipe down the fervour outside of homes

bserved across the nation, Ganesh Chaturthi has always been a time of family get-togethers, moments stolen to nurture and strengthen familial relationships; students who have gone out of town to pursue further studies, professionals occupied with work-life deadlines; and children wait for this particular vacation. Temple committees organise lucky draws, retail outlets provide festive sales and societies are abuzz with local competitions being hosted. The arrival of the Bhadrapad month in the Hindu calendar marks the auspicious beginning of festive fervour. The house is filled with melodies of ghumat aratis, beautifully decorated makhars and well laid out matolis, mouth-watering delicacies such as nevryos, ladoos and modaks; one visit from the Lord of Wisdom and everybody is on their toes. Some households still believe in simple rituals and traditions, and ensure that there are no loud speakers or fireworks that add to the rapidly increasing noise pollution. Instead, the celebrations are hosted on a grand scale by organising charity shows and contributing towards feeding those less privileged. Because celebration, at the end of the day, is a means for families to unite; and adding an element of bringing about a change in the preservation of our environment will only insert a sparkle to the occasion. Adhering to the initiative of going green, a popular trend observed today is the ‘Eco-friendly Ganesha’. A few years ago, a family in South Goa first chose to adapt an alternative means of visarjan. They installed an idol made of clay at their family home and then immersed the same in a drum full of water. Later,

the same water was used in the garden for the plants. This way, the Lord Almighty’s blessings stays within the family and the nature, too, prospers. Aware of how harmful non-biodegradable paints used on the idols can prove to be, residents are slowly moving over to eco-friendly paints and walking the path of change that maintains their religious sentiments, yet protects the surroundings. In villages, when locals realised that these acts lead to contamination of water and in the near future could lead to scarcity of water, many have decided to build artificial water tanks. Moving away from thermacol and metals, people are now welcoming bio-degradable decorative items made from paper, cardboard, cloth and bamboo. Places like Marcel and Kumbharjua are known for beautiful displays of huge statues of Lord Ganesh made from a variety of materials – from rolls of paper, plastic straws picked off the road, broken glass pieces, to coconut coir, sand and much more. A visit to the lanes of these places display the true spirit

24 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

GDMA has issued guidelines to be followed during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in view of coronavirus outbreak

of Ganesh Chaturthi; the presence and craftsmanship of locally talented artists that thrive during this festival is immensely heartening. Remover of obstacles, Vignaharta Ganesha grants the wishes of those who strive to look beyond one’s own happiness. The COVID-19 Effect: This year, however, the pandemic has decided to play spoilsport for one of Goa’s biggest celebrations of the year. Goa Disaster Management Authority (GDMA) has issued guidelines to be followed during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in view of coronavirus outbreak. As per the guidelines, there shall be monitoring of markets by concerned bodies. Police have been directed to ensure that social distancing norms are maintained, although the authorities have allowed Sarvajinik or community Ganesh celebrations. “There shall be monitoring of markets selling items

for the festival by the local bodies and police to ensure that social distancing norms are maintained. Sale timings should be long and staggered to prevent crowding,” the guidelines read. For Ganesh Chaturthi festival, the persons who cross the Goa border for bringing the Ganesh idol to Goa for either self-use or sale and return on the same day (within 24 hours of departure from Goa) shall not be required to undergo quarantine / tests, provided they make entry to that effect with personnel on duty at border check posts. The natives of Goan origin residing in different parts of the country shall be allowed to enter Goa, subject to following the present SOP of COVID negative certificate of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) authorised lab / test and quarantine till test results / 14 days home quarantine, it read. Persons, who are going out of Goa for celebration outside the State, do not need an ‘exit permit’ from Goa. However, on their return to Goa, the existing protocol needs to be followed. The guidelines would help in bringing in a sense of eco-friendliness for the celebrations, this year. Sustainability of the ecosystem is essential, and we must all strive towards achieving that in Goa. More than decorating a statue, the Lord himself will prefer being free of the burden of leaving behind a polluted environment. Agreed, the priorities for festivities have changed this year, with stringent social distancing protocols in place, the safety and health of each and every Goa is of paramount importance as we invoke the blessings of Lord Ganesh

Starting Young

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divya sinari / the cleaning crew

Pristine cleaning at your doorstep

Born and brought up in Goa, 22 year old Divya Sinari speaks about her venture The Cleaning Crew and its relevance, especially during COVID times ‘The Cleaning Crew’ team on the job

Divya Sinari

By ameya Nayak

t is an accepted fact that the globe is presently facing a pandemic in the form of COVID-19 and truth be told, it is here to stay. At such times, maintenance of extreme cleanliness and availability of sanitization services is the need of the hour and that exactly is what The Cleaning Crew (TCC) is all about! Divya Sinari, owner and proprietor at The Cleaning Crew Goa, operating from Panaji, is a BBA graduate who has majored in marketing. Divya speaks of how she has always been inclined towards outdoor activities rather than sticking to a desk job; and during her college days her interest in the area of event management developed further, which led her to pursue her Masters degree in the field. That aside, Divya is also passionate about rescue and rehabilitation of street animals, for which she has also started an Instagram page by the name of ‘Frisky Paws’ as she believes that every being deserves an equal chance at leading a good life. Speaking of how The Cleaning Crew happened, Divya says, “I had plans to start my own event management company in Goa. I gained immense experience working in Mumbai in a top event management firm. Unfortunately, the Corona crisis hit the world, implying a bleak future for event management and related businesses. That is when I had to put my plans on hold and decided to begin with something more relevant in the current situation and since I am Goan, I thought

the best place to start this venture would be right here in my hometown, which is what led to the beginning of The Cleaning Crew!” Elaborating further on what TCC is all about, Divya mentions that their services focus primarily on thorough cleaning of individual homes and villas and also provides cleaning for commercial establishments like shops, offices, factories and hospitals. The venture also takes care of society housekeeping which includes garbage segregation on contract basis. Their specialty lies in sanitization, decontamination and providing the best

possible services that are executed using top-of-the-line machinery and chemical solutions. Considering that hygiene and sanitization is at the top of everyone’s priority list at the moment, Divya says that, in less than two weeks since she started the venture, TCC has received a lot of inquiries and has also successfully carried out complete sanitisation of various hotels, hospitals and factories. The response has been overwhelming, with their main concern being high quality service to their clients. She further says, “I believe that the machinery and quality of service that TCC offers is unique and unmatched in Goa. We take personal care and interest in ensuring that the job assigned to us is completed meticulously and to the greatest satisfaction of the customer. We train our staff on a regular basis and keep them updated with the latest techniques developed in areas of housekeeping and sanitisation.” When asked about her plans for the future, Divya says that TCC strives to constantly improve its services and attract a larger client base in Goa as well as other States and locations. In a message to her present customers and prospective clients in the future, Divya thanks them wholeheartedly for believing and trusting The Cleaning Crew and their services. She also says, “We, at The Cleaning Crew assure you that the standard of our services will keep getting better each time. We hope that this trust and bond continues in the future, as well” august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 25

enterprise

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omkar gaonkar / Beaumonde Lifestyles

Breathing better with Beaumonde

Young and ambitious entrepreneur Omkar Gaonkar conceptualises his vision of eco-friendly and green solutions to ecological concerns with Beaumonde Lifestyles

By ameya Nayak

ascinated by the idea of having his own business, 21 year old Omkar Gaonkar founded his venture Beaumonde Lifestyles which he currently operates from his residence in Taleigao. Speaking of how Beaumonde Lifestyles happened, Omkar says that after graduating in Commerce from Vidhya Prabhodini College, he knew that he wanted to get into the entrepreneurial space, however was a bit unsure of what his product was going to be. Being an environment lover, he was intrigued by the idea of coming up with an eco friendly substitute to plastic. Upon further researching the idea, he discovered that cotton bags could be a viable option. Cotton being re-usable and washable, could be used for multiple purposes. Omkar then went on to visit various cotton manufacturing hubs like Erode, Mumbai, Solapur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, etc that aided him in establishing connections with prominent cotton fabric manufacturers. Elaborating on what Beaumonde Lifestyles is all about, Omkar says that he started off with cotton bags, and soon realized that it was getting difficult to keep up with costs as he was not manufacturing the bags and could not provide customisations to his clientele. That is when he decided to set up a small manufacturing unit of his own at Bhiwandi, Mumbai under the name ‘Green Planet Packaging’. Initially it was hard gathering clients as he found fierce competition in the form of fabric bags made from synthetic fiber, even though his environmentally friendly clients were in regular contact.

‘Inhale’ face masks

Omkar Gaonkar

Omkar’s plan for the year 2020-21 was to venture into trendy handbags and shoulder bags. However, all his ideas came crashing down when the globe was struck by the COVID-19 catastrophe leading to the collapse of the consumer market. Nevertheless, Omkar did not let that get to him. Instead, he decided to switch to another product that would be the need of the hour during the pandemic and decided to manufacture reusable cotton masks. Speaking of his signature products Omkar says, “My signature product is the lineup of my ‘Inhale’ brand of masks. We have developed the mask to perfectly fit men and women as we have two sizes. The shape has been perfectly designed to fit each one’s facial structure. We have two lines of hosiery and knitted masks over a range of 8 attractive colours. We also have two variants in fabric layers – two layers and three

26 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

layers. Our best selling product has been the 2-layer hosiery cotton mask. Hosiery material is the well received due to its soft touch and highly ventilating material.” Acknowledging the response to his ‘Inhale’ range of masks and expressing his happiness over the fact that the response so far is positive, Omkar says, “My clients have been ordering more and more quantities every week. We have also reached out to our end user customers and have been collecting feedback to constantly innovate our products. People are appreciating the fact that the masks are breathable and that they find it comfortable to wear for hours long. Up until the month of July, I have sold more than 25,000+ products. One of my batches of the 3 fastest moving colours went out of stock within 3 days!” Commenting upon his thoughts of who or what his target audience would be, Omkar mentions that every individual who wishes for a comfortable and breathable mask at his or her disposal at the best possible price would fit the bill. He further

mentions, “We at Beaumonde Lifestyles want to reach out to every nook and corner of the State. As of now ‘Inhale’ has masks for teens and adults. We are also in the process of developing masks for school going kids.” Additionally, as far as manufacturing face shields is concerned, Omkar says that the target for such shields are professionals who come in frequent contact with multiple people each day such as bank officials, taxi drivers, Government officials, business persons, media persons and so on. Shedding light on his plan for the future, Omkar expresses his deep interest in developing more varieties of masks that are not only at ease but are trendy as well. He plans to venture into the world of the fashion canvas and cotton bags alongside developing a leisure-wear brand in Goa through ‘Inhale’ so as to provide the local as well as national customers with a wide range of casual clothing-line to choose from, that not just suits their taste but also the environment. When asked what his message to his present and future clients would be, Omkar signs off saying “The COVID-19 pandemic has created an artificial economic crisis across the globe. We need to change our traditional ways of business and move towards a modernized way of management. It takes a strong network of interconnected entrepreneurs to grow and prosper collectively as a community. An empire cannot be built by one person alone, hence we all must come together and grow as one strong industry. Our growth will further enhance the economic prosperity of thousands of workers, cotton farmers, retail employees, logistics and so on. It’s the time to keep up the pace with the prevailing situation and make the best of it. Your progress will result in my progress”

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vincent mathias / velvin group

Eco-friendly WFH Furniture

Vincent Mathias owned brand Velvin Group shares ideas about their eco-friendly work stations made out of corrugated cardboard and related products

Vincent Mathias

WFH Furniture made out of corrugated cardboard By sybil rodrigues traditional practice of elvin Group has manufacturing products. established itself as one of They were also the first to the pre-eminent manufacturer start the futsal turf concept in in the Corrugation industry Goa. in India and across the globe. The idea of the company Velvin Paper Products is the has been to provide eco flagship company of Velvin friendly packaging solutions. Group. They were providing services Incorporated in the year to their customers even during 1987 and headquartered the pandemic by continuous in Mumbai, Velvin Group supply of packing material. continues to grow under The company came up with the dynamic leadership of a solution for those who were its Founder and Managing working from home during Director, Vincent Mathias, a the pandemic. Setting up a first generation entrepreneur. work station wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possible With an idea of building for many, given economical world class infrastructure and space constraints, hence at its core, Velvin Group today operates 3 factories in Goa and 1 factory each in Palghar and Nagpur. To support last mile just-in-time operations, Velvin Group runs its own fleet of containerbody vehicles and also operates warehouses in Goa and Pune. With a team of professionals trained over the years, Velvin Group positions itself as a partner delivering solutions to meet customer requirements, Furniture made out of corrugated cardboard well surpassing the

they came up with desks and chairs made out of corrugated boxes, which are not only durable but also eco friendly. These desks and chairs are foldable, easy to set and water proof thus making that a perfect for setting up a work station at home. The process that goes into making a foldable work station is similar to the process used for making corrugated boxes which are used to pack oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regular material, but with some designing skills added to it they were able to develop this line of products. These work stations are eco friendly, light weight, easy to assemble and disassemble, water resistant and durable. They can withstand weight of up to 150 kgs, last for a couple of years depending on the use and are also safe enough to be used by children. Velvin launched the video of these products and circulated it on social media. No sooner had they done so, they were flooded with inquiries. People working from home wanted for their use ecofriendly furniture, as well

as for their children who now have to study from home. The only challenge face by Velvin during the pandemic was the supply chain, as movements were restricted. Once the lockdown eased, it was comparatively easier to get their products delivered. Regarding the ongoing Covid situation prevailing in the country, they say it has affected a lot of industries while at the same time provising a boost to online markets. It is only a matter of coping with the current situation and looking into business changes as per requirement of the changing market situation. Velvin plans to continue with this idea of producing durable and eco friendly recyclable products for home use. As a concluding note, their advice to people is not to worry about the bad market situation given the pandemic. Every calamity gives a hundred new opportunities and all one needs to do is identify these opportunities. This is the right time for startups with the focus of the world now shifting to India and the government encouraging entrepreneurship

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 27

national focus

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Google CEO announces $10 Billion investment to support ‘Digital India’

Google & parent company Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai, at the annual ‘Google for India 2020’ event, has announced a $10 Billion ‘Google for India Digitization Fund’ for acceleration of India’s digital economy

Sundar Pichai enlightened viewers on how just about four years ago, only one-third of small businesses in India had an online identity and today, about 26 million SMBs are discoverable on Google Search and Google Maps, driving connections with more than a million users each month

Sundar Pichai

By ameya nayak

oogle, the world’s largest internet giant, aims to connect a billion people to the power of the cyber space across the globe, especially in India. ‘Google for India’ in its commitment to systematize global information and make it unanimously accessible around the world has found more than required relevance in today’s ‘pro-mobile’ arena. It further intends to come to the rescue of every Indian to easily connect to the internet and fulfil their needs in order to make an optimistic impact on the society, at large. The tech major’s ultimate goal is to achieve this with softwares, programs and products that will have an Indian user at its nucleus. Google and Alphabet Inc. CEO, Sundar Pichai; alongside Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Jutsice, Government of India; Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Minister of Human Resource Development, Government

of India; and other senior Google leaders, in the latest edition of the ‘Google for India’ event shared with the world the ways in which they are working towards making the internet helpful for a billion Indian people and multiple ways in which they aspire to contribute to India’s journey to becoming the leading digital economy in the world! Pichai, while beginning his speech at the event, expressed immense pleasure in mentioning how Google for India has always been “a very special time” for him and he wished he could make the ‘big’ announcement personally. Pichai went on to speak about how the biggest challenge at this point of time during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the fact that we are unable to visit our family, friends and loved ones owing to the social distancing norms that have been put in place. At such times, the ability to establish an online presence has been

28 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

nothing short of a lifeline for many of us. Whether it is a small business trying to stay afloat, a parent looking for how to keep the family fit and running or a student trying to keep up with his curriculum, Google, at such critical times works tirelessly to bring together global information and ensure that it reaches every nook and cranny of the world. Pichai further went on to narrate an anecdote from his childhood explaining how technology provided a window to a world outside his own and brought them closer together as a family. He says, “Every evening, we were drawn to the television by Doordarshan’s special rendition of “Saare Jahan Se Accha”. I tried explaining this to my colleagues the other day, but I eventually gave up and just showed it to them on YouTube.” He pointed out how, in earlier times, every new piece of technology created new opportunities to learn and expand one’s potential for learning.

However, one always had to wait for it to arrive from some other place. Today, times have changed to such an extent, that people in India no longer have to wait long hours for technology to reach them. A whole new generation of technologies are being born right here, in India! Pichai recollected flashes of excitement on young peoples’ faces when they access latest apps and services with their smartphones especially in rural India. He made a mention of the commendable effort of the 2,500+ YouTube content creators in the country that have made their mark in the field of digital content creation and have over a million subscribers each! Speaking of how innovations that have started in India can benefit the rest of the world, but India’s own digital journey is far from complete, Pichai mentioned various investments made in Indian businesses through Google as well as through their own growth equity

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investment fund, CapitalG. Furthermore, he spoke of how the most thrilling triumph tale has been that of digitisation of small businesses. He enlightened the viewers on how just about four years ago, only one-third of small businesses in India had an online identity and today, about 26 million SMBs are discoverable on Google Search and Google Maps, driving connections with more than a million users each month. So also, small scale merchants, vendors, shopkeepers etc are now well equipped with the system of digital payments. This development has enabled small businesses to become a part of the formal market and improve their way in to credit. Digital mode of payments have also allowed families across the country to access goods and services during the COVID pandemic-led lockdown with ease and without the stress of having to move out of their homes. All this progress where India has managed to bring millions of Indians online, as per Pichai, has been possible only due to the sturdy groundwork of digital connectivity and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for a ‘Digital India.’ At Google, Pichai says, they are proud to be partners to India’s journey towards digitization right from 2004 when they inaugurated their first offices in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The focus during those days was to get access to easy and helpful data to Indian users through Google Search; whether it was searching for their favourite Bollywood star of getting latest cricket scores – the aim was to make that happen through Google! Owing to the fact that creating products for India first has aided Google in building better products for the global audience, Pichai went on to make the big announcement wherein he announced the ‘Google for India Digitization Fund’ and

“India’s app economy is growing very powerfully, but we must not just download apps. It is also important to upload apps from India. I am sure with this new fund; Google will also focus on promoting our startups further” ravi shankar prasad Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology

the ways in which, through this initiative, the company will invest a handsome purse of Rs. 75,000 Crores that is approximately 10 Billion Dollars in India, over a span of the next five to seven years. This will be done through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. Pichai, at this point, mentioned how making this announcement is a reflection of their confidence in the future of India and its digital economy. The investment, as per Pichai, will focus on four vital areas that are crucial to India’s digital expertise: First: Enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, whether it is Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other language. Second: Building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs. Third: Empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation and; Fourth: Leveraging technology and Artificial Intelligence for social good in areas like health, education and agriculture. Moreover, Pichai expressed his happiness over making these investments and working alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Government as well as Indian businesses,

of all sizes, to realise their shared vision for a better Digital India. In addition, commenting on whether he looks at the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative by PM Modi as a looming threat for American companies such as Google itself, Pichai said that his company is making every possible effort to develop apps in India and invest in firms that are developing these apps. “We want to help play a small role in accelerating that trend. We are definitely happy to partner with governments in compliance with the laws in a democratic society,” he said. This 10 billion dollarinvestment is part of Google’s plan to elevate operations in India and ensure its participation in the growing digital ecosystem. India, being the world’s second most populated country, houses nearly 500 million internet users and over 450 million smart-phone operators, which means that almost half of India’s population is yet to experience the ‘online’ world. Thus, Pichai says that the Google Digitization Fund will look to make investments in the form of combinations of venture capitals as well as direct investment in large-cap companies. That aside, other senior global leaders at Google announced a partnership with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to offer digital learning modules across schools in

India. Google is set to join hands with 1 million teachers across 22,000 CBSE schools across India by the end of the year. Offering his valuable insights at the event, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “India’s app economy is growing very powerfully, but we must not just download apps. It is also important to upload apps from India. I am sure with this new fund; Google will also focus on promoting our startups further.” Analysing Google’s interest in India, it is noteworthy that Google has always seen the big picture for the country. From Google Pay and Google Maps to Google Assistant and Google Translate, there are a variety of examples of India-first innovations that have made it on the global charts, few of which include Tez (Google Pay) launched in September 2017; Plus Codes, an open source location based digital addressing system launched in March 2018; Bolo (Read Along) a reading app encouraging children to read aloud launched in March 2019; Food and Night Shelters on Google Maps; Search Assistant and KaiOS launched in April 2020; and many more. Sundar Pichai also mentioned that, undoubtedly, the circumstances today are tough, not just in India but also around the globe. The dual challenge to our health as well as economy has left us with no choice but to rethink the way we work and the way we live. However, such challenging times can lead to incredible moments of innovation. Pichai, while being hopeful that the bigbillion fund disbursal towards upliftment of the Indian digital economy will not just benefit the next wave of innovation but lead it, says that working together will ensure that the best days are yet to come!

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 29

campus

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GIM Commences Academic Year with Online Classes

eading B-school Goa Institute of Management (GIM) commenced its academic year with online classes for its senior students. Students of the B-school are now able to attend classes digitally from the safety of their homes via the online mode. Among the various programmes, the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) which is GIM’s flagship programme and the Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management (PGDM-HCM) have commenced online classes from the first week of July 2020. Students of the Post Graduate Diploma in Management-Part Time (PGDM-PT) programme have classes scheduled over the weekend through the year. Faculty members have been conducting these classes online since the last three months. First year students who have just joined the institute will possibly see classes commence in August 2020 as per the guidelines issued by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The students of the Post Graduate Diploma in Big Data Analytics (PGDMBDA) are currently engaged in internships and are likely to commence classes in October, this year. Students of PDGM and PGDM-HCM have a two-month internship while students of PGDMBDA have to undergo a five-month long internship each year which sees students commencing their academic year later in the year.

Professor at GIM in a virtual classroom

GIM has created multiple, fully equipped studios which act as virtual classrooms, across the spacious campus from where professors conduct classes and interact with students over the Microsoft Teams platform. A number of faculties reside at the faculty blocks on campus and can access the studios as per their convenience. Course material and assignment briefs as well as submissions are shared by faculty members and students alike, via the online medium. Dr. Ajit Parulekar, Director, GIM commented on the online education medium which the institute has adopted in the wake of the pandemic. “At GIM, we have always followed the adage ‘Learning Never Stops’. The rising number of cases across the country has prompted us to take the decision to commence classes online for now. A specially created

Teaching Excellence Forum has been working along with faculty members to set up virtual classrooms, processes for evaluation and training sessions to aid faculty members gear up for the newnormal in management education. We will look to resume classroom-based learning once the restrictions are lifted,” said Dr Parulekar. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the management education community. GIM’s teachinglearning process is unique. While the 65+ core faculty members with strong credentials strive to apply innovative techniques, the visiting faculty members, drawn from the industry and leading B-Schools, ensure that the course is in sync with latest industry requirements. Loaded with modern learning tools and resources, GIM is at par with leading MBA institutes in India and abroad

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bookshelf

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Portuguese Civil Code, 1867

Adv. Dr. F. E. Noronha shares an insight on the book which also has a foreword by Justice Mahesh S. Sonak

oted jurist Advocate F. E. Noronha has made available the draft Civil Code for consideration of the people of the country. Civil Code is not personal or family law alone, though it certainly includes these. It is the systematisation and ordering of all relations between citizens. Dr. F. E. Noronha is enthusiastically convinced that the Goa model of the civil code can serve as a model for India. He observes that the substantive principles of the Code are practised by and are known to all the people of Goa, even the less educated. Dr. Noronha observes that the Portuguese Civil Code and other laws are an important functional and operative part of the Goan heritage because they are deeply ingrained into the minds and hearts of Goan people like the Konkani language, folklore, food and habits. A practising lawyer from Panaji, Adv. Dr. F. E. Noronha holds a Ph.D. in Law from University of Pune. He has authored a book on Private International Law and several books on Civil Law, including the Official Translation of the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867 and Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure, 1939 for the Goa Government. Dr. Noronha was faculty teaching Jurisprudence for LL.M. students for 15 years and has been invited several times to Lisbon University as well as various law schools and universities in India and various symposia and seminars. Portuguese Civil Code, 1867 has been in force in Goa since 1870, for the last 150 years, the Code has been not just an icon of Goan identity but also a positive instrument of social order. It is not only uniform as vainly aspired by the rest of the country, but it is also a systematic organization

Adv. Dr. F. E. Noronha

of law in a style which is elegant in philosophical, linguistic and legal terms. The Code was not translated since 1961 and Dr. Noronha was the first to translate it in its full form in 2016, the present book, being its second edition. The Code, besides a preliminary title, covers Obligations (Contract), Property, Possession, Marriage, Children, Divorce, Guardianship, Unsoundness of Mind and other disabilities, Succession, Civil Wrongs (Torts) and Enforcement/ Remedies for substantive rights, and runs into 2538 articles. Ill-advisedly a part of it has been truncated into a separate Act instead of recodifying and updating the vintage statute. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Code has been always accepted and peacefully followed by all sections of Goans and even

by non-Goans who are settled in Goa. Like the natural sceneries, the welcoming and amiable Goan people, the inimitable Goan lifestyle, this Code is subconsciously and sometimes consciously the force behind the grace and tranquility of Goan society. Its charming feature is that its provisions are known to the entire native Goan population, even though

they never read them in their original Portuguese language. For example, a fully illiterate tribal from the remote interiors of Goa knows that when a son or daughter is born, he has to go and register the birth; when he gets married he has to first go to the registration office along with his bride. If he wants to sell something, he has to take his wife along because she has half right in it. He also knows that when he dies, his sons and daughters will get equal shares without distinction. He knows the he cannot sell his share in property without the signatures of his brothers and sisters. He knows that in respect of property of his deceased parents and ancestors, he has to file Inventory Proceedings in the Court. He also knows that he can make a Will or Gift to one son or daughter only to the extent of 50% of his half share. When he makes a Will, he has to do it along with his wife. As we know in other places, births and marriages were not registered, properties could be sold without the wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consent. Some heirs were barred from inheritance and anybody could sell his share in property without bothering about his coowners. In other places, Wills are made at home and people struggle for a so called probate which may come when the beneficiary is dead. You can make a Will alone and dispose anything anyhow,â&#x20AC;? expresses Dr. Noronha. The above comparison shows why the Portuguese Civil Code has brought in a personal legal discipline in every Goan individual, couple and family leading to an orderly, law abiding society. The need of the hour is for a complete updating of the Portuguese Civil Code including in it all laws in the civil area

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 31

Professional dossier

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“It’s a honour, privilege and a huge responsibility to live up to the great expectations of the Bar”

Jayant P. Mulgaonkar speaks about his experiences in the field of law, being designated ‘Senior Advocate’ and serving as President of the Goa High Court Bar Association By ameya nayak

Early life and Education A couple of events have left an indelible imprint on my early life. My father’s arrest in June 1954, due to his participation in the freedom struggle against the Portuguese colonial rule and the five-year incarceration at the Aguada Jail that followed, was the first. My father was initially practicing law at Bicholim. Later on, he moved with the family to Mapusa, where I was born. I do not remember the day of my father’s arrest. My earliest memories are of missing him and the family visits to Aguada for brief meetings with him. I did my primary education in Marathi language at Shree Shantadurga Vidyalaya, Bicholim; followed by secondary education at New Goa High School, Mapusa. Thereafter, I joined St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa in the Arts stream to attain a B.A. degree; and later I attended Bombay University’s CPIR at Panaji to pursue my post graduation degree, M.A. (Economics). After this, I momentarily apprenticed with the daily Navhind Times for a short while for a brief brush with journalism. What made you choose the law as your profession? It was not a carefully thought out career choice. I had no particular liking or aptitude for the law. I drifted into the profession, so to say. My brother, who had been a student of Mumbai’s Government Law College, had already been practicing law with my father. So I belonged, as it were, to a family of lawyers, which I believe, determined my career choice. I was a bookish boy, reading indiscriminately anything that came my way,

am better prepared this time with the experience of the earlier term behind me. I was deeply touched and indeed overwhelmed and humbled by the trust reposed by all my colleagues who had assembled for the General Meeting of the Association. It is a great honour and privilege and also a huge responsibility to live up to the great expectations of the Bar.

Sr. Adv. Jayant P. Mulgaonkar

except the compulsorily prescribed textbooks, for which I had no liking. Tell us about your early days in practice. Are there any highlights and cases etched in your memory you would like to mention? My very first appearances as a lawyer was before Justice R. K. Batta who was then, the Junior Division Judge at Mapusa and Dr. Alvaro do Noronha Ferreira who was then, the Senior Division Civil Judge at Panaji. I practiced in the civil and revenue courts, mostly at Mapusa, Panaji and Bicholim. I regret, however, my lack of exposure to criminal law at the formative stage. I argued my first matter in the Judicial Commissioner’s (JC) Court, appearing for the respondent in a first civil appeal which was only partly allowed. So I can claim to have had partial success in my first case. My rare foray into criminal law occurred when I was briefed to argue a bail application for an accused charged with the offence of

32 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It was a good case for bail. The material did not make out a case for the charge of murder. At the highest, the accused could have been charged for culpable homicide. The main hurdle before me was that the earlier bail application had been rejected right up to the High Court. This was the second round and there was no change in circumstances. Fortunately, my bail application was heard by Justice Hosbet Suresh, a very fine, fair-minded and a just Judge. The bail was granted. I relished this success much more than my successes in civil cases. Your thoughts on serving as the President of the Goa High Court Bar Association. This is my second term as President of the Goa High Court Bar Association. The President is expected to lead. Last time, when I became President, I had shown no evident leadership qualities. I would like to believe that I

What are the various initiatives and programs of the Association that have been held during your tenure? My first term was a contentious one. We had quite a few issues with the High Court on the administrative side, as well as on the judicial side. I was lucky to have a team of young advocates by my side. They stood with me through thick and thin and from time to time, gave me level headed advice. They also spurred me to stand up to the High Court establishment. I also received consistent rock solid support from the then Advocate General, Subodh Kantak. The issue that threatened to get contentious in this term though, was the fear of the denial of adequate space for the Bar in the upcoming new High Court building at Porvorim. This has largely been sorted out. Of course, much of the spadework was done by my predecessor Presidents. We have also started holding functions to mark the Constitution Day on 26th November. For last year’s Constitution Day function, we got acclaimed legal scholar and writer Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud, who addressed a full house on ‘Secularism and the Indian Constitution.’ Justice Mahesh Sonak has been very helpful with the GHCBA endeavours,

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and also gave a riveting talk on ‘Interface between U. S. and the Indian Constitution.’ There was a Master Class by Justice R. D. Dhanuka on Arbitration law; while Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, during his visit here, gave a motivational address to the Bar. We also started ‘Law Conversations.’ So far, we have managed to have only a couple of Law Conversations wherein Senior Advocate M. B. da Costa and Senior Advocate S. D. Lotlikar were the participants in the first edition of ‘Law Conversation’. While Senior Advocate Subodh Kantak and our present Advocate General Devidas Pangam were participants in the second edition. We are hoping to continue with ‘Law Conversations’ with greater regularity. We also intend to start continuing law education

lecture series like the one conducted by the Bombay Bar Association. Unfortunately, the GHCBA activities have come to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I must mention here, the excellent support that I have been receiving from my committee members to carry out the activities listed above. How do you feel being designated ‘Senior Advocate’ by the High Court? The ‘senior’ designation is a great honour. It is a privilege conferred when the High Court forms an opinion that the Advocate concerned is deserving of such distinction. This carries certain restrictions and great responsibilities. The designation as a ‘Senior Advocate’ makes one to constantly conduct oneself with great sense of responsibility and in a manner worthy of the distinction

conferred. What has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on practice? The practice of law has been impacted very badly by the unprecedented COVID situation. We are on the horns of a dilemma. The re-opening of the courts for physical hearings all at once has huge potential of contributing to the exponential spread of the pandemic. We have been trying to cope with the situation by adapting to technology by resorting to the virtual hearings, only to realise how problematic and woefully inadequate they are. The limitations are obvious. To those who have no access to technology, this is downright unjust and unfair. It militates against our basic system of the open court justice. The denial of access to justice for want of physical opening of the

courts amounts to the denial of fundamental rights and human rights. These are huge questions for which there are no easy answers. Your advice / message to the young practitioners. I do not really like the idea of getting on to the pulpit to dispense advice or message to anyone. I will only share what I recollect of an interview of Ram Jethmalani who was known for his brilliance and flamboyance. He was asked what the key to success in the legal profession was, to which, his simple but startling answer was, “Industry, Industry and Industry!” The legendary Fali Nariman says that even today, when he has to wait for his turn, he sits in the court room and follows the cases that are being heard. You are likely to profit more by sitting in the court room rather than frittering away your time in corridor gossiping

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 33

lady power

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“I’ve never been so busy in my life. It has been extremely challenging and exciting at Ira Almeida traces her journey from practicing as a paediatrician the same time” Dr.to becoming the Director of Goa’s lone COVID hospital in Margao D

By sybil rodrigues

r. Ira was born in Dar-es-Salam, Tanzania, in East Africa, where her parents used to work. She shifted to Goa when she was eleven and joined a boarding school. She lost her mother when she had just started college, and her youngest sister was seven years old. Since then she’s used to being the responsible one among her siblings. Dr. Ira always wanted to serve people. This led to her choice of pursuing a career in the medical field. “It wasn’t so complicated back then. I wanted to be a nurse, or a dentist, or maybe a doctor even. But my mother said, a doctor you shall be!,” she says. Her journey had just begun. Her early years in the profession began with her graduating with MBBS. “After MBBS, I did paediatrics in GMC and later moved to Hospicio in Margao, where I’ve been working for the last thirty years. I liked the energy and fun of the busy paediatrics department at Goa Medical College. At Hospicio, it was nice setting up a new department at that time Paediatrics was like an offshoot of the Medicine Department. Then we started the NICU, the DEIC, we expanded into preventive paediatrics, a particular interest of mine, with the Child Development Clinic, Support Group for mothers and the Positive Parenting Program.” Dr Ira always enjoyed the energy involved in paediatrics, which led her to choosing her specialisation in the field of paediatrics. “The best thing about working with children is that they always get well. Adults just get better. It’s nice to see how parents are comforted. It’s a double joy, working with the child, and making a connection with the parents.” The aspect of work that excites Dr. Ira is change and starting new things. Every year on the 1st of January she questions herself on what will she do during the year at the department and at the hospital. Dr. Ira speaks on her COVID-19 experience and manning the ESI COVID Hospital in Margao. “I’ve never been so busy in my life. It’s been extremely challenging and exciting at the same time. It all started in March when the world was just waking up to COVID when we realized we needed to prepare our hospital for the challenge ahead.” She

34 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

Dr Ira Almeida

“It all started in March when the world was just waking up to COVID when we realised we needed to prepare our hospital for the challenge ahead.” Dr Ira adds that their disaster plans were geared to things like handling trauma and this was a completely different ball game adds that their disaster plans were geared to things like handling trauma and this was a completely different ball game. They ran a drill to prepare for the worst case COVID scenario. “We divided into teams to assess preparedness. One team was fortuitously sent to ESI to check the facilities just before the government declared it to be the COVID hospital. In the beginning, we had just seven patients – all mild cases. We had a lot of time to practice drills and prepare our SOPs, which has really helped us now. Then from mid-May the second wave appeared with the first trains coming in and the borders opening. From 1st June,

with Mangor Hill being the epicenter, the cases have only risen.” There are some cases that remain etched in her memory. She speaks on one such special case. “Thirty years ago I treated a child whose father wanted to leave them and go back to his village. I told the father he couldn’t go because the child was very sick. He said he had to because his buffalo was also sick. I pointed out the child might die. He said “If the child dies by God’s grace I may have another child. If the buffalo dies my whole family dies.” I will never forget that.” She further mentions that paediatric patients mostly pull through, but if they don’t, the situation is very heartbreaking. “The tears well up even more when the parents console you and say we know you have done your best. Also when patients don’t make it but the parents still come back to you. I’m still in touch with many parents, even years later.” Dr Ira speaks about the support received from her family, fellow doctors and the government authorities. “I’m fully supported by my family. Many of our doctors don’t feel comfortable with their family, because they are afraid of them bringing the virus home. My family hasn’t treated me differently at all.” She praises the doctors at Hospicio saying that they are amazing and have risen up to the COVID situation prevailing in the state. “When we had to partly move to the new hospital, there was always someone to take over. Every single doctor and nurse at Hospicio is there to do any task, be it mass swabbing or starting a COVID care centre or a deputation to the COVID hospital. Because I’ve worked with them, the support I feel is very reliable and dependable. When it comes to people, my Hospicio pockets are deep. I’ve had very good support from my head office and the public health department too.” Change and new projects are what keeps Dr Ira excited. As soon as one project is over she is ready to start something new. As a COVID warrior and accomplished paediatrician, Dr. Ira concludes with her success mantra for youngsters, “I would say work hard and be ready to adapt to change”

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miriam koshy / change on ground foundation

Reaching out to the Marginalised

Miriam Koshy speaks about the migrant crisis during the lockdown and forming the Change On Ground Foundation

By SYBIL RODRIGUES

iriam Koshy first came to Goa in 2000 to do a PGDBM course at GIM, Ribandar and left in 2002 when she got a placement in Dubai. She returned in August 2004 to settle down with her classmate and husband, Jack Sukhija and spent the next 14 years managing Panjim Inn and Gallery Gitanjali with him and the family. In 2018, she finally decided to answer her calling to make time for her own art practice. Miriam speaks on forming COVID Outreach Goa and the source of inspiration behind it. “At the onset of Covid 19 in March, migrant workers stood stranded between state lines. The pandemic heightened their vulnerability to entrenched neglect, compelling me to create a space prioritizing their needs in our CSO, Covid Outreach Goa to channel citizen volunteer efforts with State and professional partnerships, both local and national.” “Our progress and the immense potential for change moves me till date to bridge systemic gaps that informal workers face with the formation of Change on Ground Foundation (COG).” Like most people Miriam had been watching the impact of the pandemic and the resulting lockdown across the world and India. Miriam goes on to talk about the response that she has received to her when deciding to form the COG. “When I came across the first SOS call, I felt compelled to respond and shared the urgency of the situation with friends who responded immediately and from there on it has been a heart-warming groundswell of support, in kind and in person. As I dealt with each new challenge and spoke about it, there would come from somewhere or the other a response from the community – both immediate, pan India and even across the globe.” The overwhelming response received to her SOS call, supported her confidence to take up each task at hand and prepare for the ones that lay ahead. “The team formed quite organically. Restaurateurs, techpreneurs, DJs, architects, counsellors, writers, lawyers, artists, and students all rolled up their sleeves to get things done. Right from packing, inventory management, data collection, data entry, distribution, surveys, tele-calling followups, shelter patrolling, booking buses and taxis for stranded workers to reach

Miriam Koshy

stations – pretty much everything. We also had individuals sitting at home (many senior citizens) making bags for us to repackage rations. It became a truly citizens’ movement and an ‘Operation Heartstrings’. Eventually, the people from the communities with whom we served came on board as volunteers” Miriam and her team were witness to the gradual escalation in levels of anguish, anger and a growing sense of hopelessness, manifesting in suicidal thoughts. This was borne, not only out of the lack of basics, but heightened by desperate calls from home pleading with them to return to family and farm. These very families back home have had to mortgage whatever little they have to money lenders in order to feed their primary breadwinners stranded in other states without access to adequate and regular rations. Miriam adds, “It increasingly became evident to us that an intervention was required to help them in their hour of mental crisis. For this, we reached out to Caritas Goa, a charitable trust – to put together a team of trained mental health counsellors. Many of the migrants began coming out voluntarily to pour their hearts out. Some of them came out the second time to talk to the counsellors. We ended up conducting counselling sessions for 51 migrant labourers in clusters that we identified as the most vulnerable ones.” At the same time, Miriam and her team continued to support them each step of the way – be it from scheduled ration distribution, to helping them

register themselves for the Shramik trains, to alerting them when their time to travel came, to helping those left out, to supplementing food at and outside shelters / holding areas, to even stepping in to ensure that they got food while on the train or buses back to their districts. Miriam speaks on the future plans of COG and its plans to continue supporting the migrant population within and outside Goa. “Change on Ground unites volunteers and experts from many disciplines to drive lasting change. While we worked with industry and Government to organize food, shelter, and travel over the summer, we realized the struggles faced by migrant workers exceed informal sources of livelihood. Underlying barriers of literacy of rights, education and healthcare are endemic in the underdevelopment of rural areas.” “To this end, we aim to articulate the formalisation of informal workers with evidence for sustained legislative action to protect labour rights and ethical reforms on multiple fronts of workrelated practices,” emphasises Miriam. The COG plans to use their four fold strategy of a) Access, b) Awareness, c) Advocacy and d) Association. Overall, COG creates a live network to hear the pulse of migrant workers in every region. Miriam concludes with her message to the average citizen who wants to contribute to the cause. “We need to build a sustained collaborative ecosystem through partnership with social sector organisations, Government agencies and citizens. A lot of our work, especially with respect to surveys and awareness drives has been done via tele-calling, ensuring continuous worker participation and engagement .We need urban volunteers with skills to maintain systems and relationships with informal worker communities. Everyone has some skills that organisations like ours can work with to build back better” august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 35

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Rotary Club Panaji Riviera

Rotary Club Riviera donates Swab Collection Kiosks Identifying the risk of the primary health workers and doctors during swab collection of the patients that go for COVID-19 testing, Rotary Club of Panaji Riviera donated 5 Swab Collection Kiosks to Primary Health Centres

Doctors with the Swab Collection Kiosk at Candolim

By SYBIL RODRIGUES

otary Club of Panaji Riviera completed a number of projects in July as part of their community and social service activities. One of the projects completed was the donation of Swab Collection Kiosks for COVID-19 testing to Primary Health Centres around the State.

Identifying the risk of the primary health workers and doctors during swab collection of the patients that go for COVID-19 testing, Rotary Club of Panaji Riviera donated 5 Swab Collection Kiosks to Primary Health Centres. This will help reduce the risk of passing infection to the collection officers and staff significantly. The cost of

each Kiosk is `6000/- each. The beneficiaries of this community service by the Rotarians were Mapusa, Corlim, Candolim and BetkiHealth Centers, Directorate of Health Services, Government of Goa which includes approximately 450 individuals, who benefitted from the generosity of the Rotarians. Club Members Rtn. Maithili Nadkarni and Rtn. Ryan Costa were generous in their donations and set up the kiosks at Candolim Health Centre and Mapusa Primary Health Centre. Rt. Yogish

Wishing a proud nation â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Happy Independence Dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Kulkarni donated a Swab Collection Kiosk to Corlim Primary Health Centre while Rtn. Natty Vaz donated a Swab Collection Kiosk to Betki Primary Health Care Centre www.businessgoa.in

409, Citicentre, EDC Patto Plaza, Panaji Goa 403001 | Tel.: 0832-2437822 Email: businessgoa.media@gmail.com 36 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

Biz bytes

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Taj Exotica Resort & Spa listed in ‘Top-25 Luxury Hotels in India’ Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Goa is listed in the Top 25 Luxury Hotels in India by Tripadvisor. The world’s largest travel platform recently announced the winners of its annual Travellers’ Choice Awards. This coveted award program celebrates travellers’ favourite hotels, restaurants and airlines around the world. Vincent Ramos, Area Director – IHCL, Goa and General Manager – Taj Hotel & Convention Centre, Goa said, “We are humbled and honoured to receive this prestigious award of being

ranked in the Top 25 Hotels in India. This recognition is a testament of the relentless efforts towards delivering outstanding quality of service, remarkable hospitality and phenomenal experiences. We

remain confident of being able to carry the trust of our guests, employees and all our stakeholders with an even stronger commitment.” Travellers’ Choice ‘Best of the Best’ are calculated based

on the millions of reviews, opinions and ratings collected in 2019 from travellers around the world on Tripadvisor. Vishal Singh, General Manager, Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Goa said, “It is indeed a significant moment for us, this award is the sheer reflection of our efforts put behind the scenes to ensure unmatched experiences personalized for each of our guests. Embodied in what we call Tajness, this culture is ingrained in every associate at Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Goa and is a hallmark of excellence”

E. P. Kamat Group unveils Bio STP Plus to conserve water Excessive usage of water can be seen with developing infrastructure in developing countries. 70% of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into the waters where they pollute the usable water supply leading to water pollution. In tune with their mission of contribution towards a Clean, Green and Safe planet, E. P. Kamat Group has launched a brand new system called the BIO STP PLUS. The product was launched in the presence of Nilesh Cabral, Minister of Power, Environment, Non-Conventional Sources of Energy and Law and Judiciary as Chief Guest. “It is amazing to see E. P. Kamat Group coming up with such innovative ideas as such products are the need of the hour. In today’s time, we ought to make fruitful use of natural resources as much as we can. It is very much important that we conserve water along with other natural resources and with the launch of this new STP system, I think, we will definitely take a leap towards a better future,” said Cabral. E. P. Kamat Group has been manufacturing environmentfriendly architectural products that deﬁne, beautify and protect people’s homes and surrounding. Their belief in the power of their human

Nilesh Cabral, Minister of Power, Environment, Non-Conventional Sources of Energy and Law and Judiciary unveiling BIO STP PLUS an initiative by E P Kamat Group along with Vishant Chimulkar, CEO, E P Kamat Group

resource has enabled them to deliver several overseas orders time and again over the past several years. After the successful supply of 1,00,000 Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Doors, 1,000 fire installations; and 1,000 DRDO technology biodigesters / toilets in Goa, E. P, Kamat Group is now launching the Bio STP Plus. E.P. Kamat Group has developed an innovative system to recycle water and is offering customized, turnkey solutions for water recycling. “We are happy to provide a sustainable product in the form of Bio STP Plus, as it is an innovative system using multiple technologies for wastewater treatment to provide practical solutions with optimum results at minimal cost. I assure that at E. P. Kamat Group we will continue to strive in

“A sustainable product, Bio STP Plus is an innovative system that uses multiple technologies for wastewater treatment to provide practical solutions with optimum results at minimal cost” rajkumar kamat Founder-MD, E P Kamat Group

bringing about Environmentfriendly products,” says Rajkumar Kamat, Founder and Managing Director of

E. P. Kamat Group. Mahesh Bakal, Technical Partner of E. P. Kamat Group elaborated that the Bio STP Plus also has economic and environmental benefits as it helps in eliminating secondary and tertiary contamination of water bodies and societal benefits of increased water availability for alternate (human/agriculture) use. While the treated water can be re-used for toilet flushing, constructions, fish ponds, car washing, road, floor washing and horticulture, the delivering output; it is fully in line with the latest 2020 Pollution Control Board’s norms; and above all conserves water for alternate applications. In addition to this, the Bio STP Plus is cost-effective, has a low carbon footprint and maintenance, conserves water through recycling, treats water as per the PCB norms and is a completely automated unit with better process and quality control. The company is establishing its own customization lab, validation units, implementation team for turnkey execution, operation & maintenance team and strives to take complete charge of one’s wastewater problem www.businessgoa.in

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 37

corporate citizen / Daniel Albuquerque

COVID-19: Business Interruption Insurance

The author analyses the problem of business interruption insurance or business income insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic

ife insurance is easily understood, that in the event of death which is verifiable, the insurance payout is obvious. However, when it comes to insurance of businesses it may not be that clear depending on the nature of the insurance. For instance, factors such as fire, payroll, taxes and even a natural disaster, if these and the rest were part of the policy agreement. But is that enough in the case of COVID-19? Insurance Claim Adjudication: To begin with, here is the adjudication by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in the case of Hydro Power Ltd. versus New India Assurance Co. Ltd. dated 8 July 2020. The complainant, a hydro-power generation company, had purchased three turbine units of 2.4 MW each. The company purchased industrial all risk insurance policy for all the turbines consisting of a) for material damage `70 crores and b) `18 crores for loss of profit. The turbines developed problems and were repaired as well. However there was considerable loss of time where the company suffered business loss for the period of their absence when these were repaired. The company claimed insurance for the business loss. The insurance surveyor rejected the claim on the grounds that the machinery was defective; it was not an accident. The company in its complaint stated that it was not claiming material damages which were taken care of by the vendor as the turbines were within the warranty period. However, the loss of business was undeniable and the claim was only on this which after proper assessment procedure amounted to nearly `82.5 lakhs. But the defendant argued that the initial report of the surveyor that the damage to the turbines was due to defect in the machinery and it was not an accident; therefore, the initial report cannot be modified into business loss. Having assessed both sides, it was established that the grievance could be addressed only partially because of the several inconsistencies found in the complainant’s claims. The complainant succeeded in winning a recompense of just short of `27 lakhs, a far cry from the original claim of loss in profit. The Covid-19 Finance Research:

Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) published its research, ‘Covid-19 Impact on the Indian Insurance Industry’ in June 2020. In an early assessment, its findings showed revenue or profit losses at various percentages across various sectors such as consumer markets, financial services, health, government and public services etc., with a conclusion that overall the losses to be in the region of 33%. The companies have to look out for the following concerns: a) implementing cost containment 81%, b) deferring or cancelling planned investments 60%, and c) changing financial plans 43%. Under category b: deferred or cancelled investment a) of facilities 83%, b) operations 53%, c) workforce 49%, d) IT 37%, d) Research and Development 28%, e) other categories such as digital transformation, cyber security and customer experience are considerably lower. The statistics prove that that while on the one hand are businesses winding down and on the other they are forced to rush to insurance companies to make good their losses. Covid-19 Insurance Cover: While the business establishments, irrespective of their size, hang out a notice on their entrances crying out, ‘Sorry. We are Closed Due to Covid-19’, the insurance company entrances stridently publicize ‘Are You Covered?’ In common parlance, that is a million dollar question. Proverbially speaking, companies are burning their midnight candle poring over the fine print in their risk cover policies. On 8 April 2020, Bloomberg / Quint published an article with a hard hitting headline question: ‘Why companies Can’t Claim Insurance For Covid-19 Losses?’ (https://www.bloombergquint.com/ business). Small and medium Indian businesses generally take risk cover for the following four areas: Property, crime, general liability and equipment breakdown. But business interruption cover is only taken by large concerns. The article suggests that Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) should intervene. Regulatory Authority: The IRDA Act, 1999, has for its objective to protect the

The columnist is a writer with Oxford University Press and a published author. Email: albuquerque.daniel@gmail.com 38 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

interests of the policyholders to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry. The concern however is not the development of insurance industry; here the problem is how to make good the loss of profit without a specific clause about business interruption or even more specific epidemic/pandemic in the covered insurance policy? Can IRDA pass a regulation post factum? Can a law be applied retrospectively? Article 20, clause (1) of the Constitution of India expressly puts limitation on enacting retrospective laws. The supremacy of the legal principle lex prospicit non respicit – ‘law looks forward not backward’ – is sovereign. Some, expressly ‘some’ exceptions may be made only regarding procedural matters. But it is strictly not in matters of one’s rights. Thus, any regulation changing the nature of the insurance also to cover business interruption loss would tantamount to impinging on the rights of the insurance companies. Facing the Reality: The companies who have thus far have had no exclusive business interruption cover would have to face the hard and bitter truth of the loss of business, and continue the enterprise with a new spirit. The recovery package announced by the Ministry of Finance may be an incentive to go forward. However, remember that recovery packages do not serve for loss of business profit. This leads one to ask: What measures should be taken in the future? Irrespective of the size and nature of business, hire the services of best possible business insurance consultant just as you would take recourse to a lawyer to represent you legally or a doctor when you are ill. Business interruption insurance is a specialized area, so you need to go to a specialist. A well informed choice covers the risks and saves you from loss in the future. At the same time, there have cropped up any number of consulting firms and agencies offering insurance refund under Covid-19. This was revealed by General Insurance Council (GIC), a regulatory authority to work along with IRDA, assigned to industry and business concerns. It has issued notification stringent action against insurance

Wealth Doctor / Amiya Sahu

Investment Choices: How to Select?

The writer speaks about making investment choices and factors to be considered in the selection of investments

his is a follow-up article to my last one (June 2020 issue). In the article I had highlighted ‘Why we should invest?’ and the dos and don’ts of a ‘good investor’. I also highlighted what is important to be a successful investor and to create wealth over a long period. This article is a step ahead in the journey. It is aimed to understand how we should go about making our investment choices. Further, I explain what factors should be considered in our selection. There are several choices for an investor in the market viz. equity, debt, mutual funds, commodities, forex, derivatives and others. Under each segment, we have sub-segments. For example, in equity we have large, midsized and small companies. There are also penny stocks (low priced i.e. below `10). In the debt market, the choices are fixed deposits in banks and financial institutions, corporate bonds and even government bonds. A host of commodities are available for investment which further can be categorised as industrial – crude oil, copper, aluminium, nickel, zinc, palladium, etc.; and agricultural – turmeric, soybean, jeera, channa, coffee, cardamom, black pepper, orange juice, rice, sugar etc. Foreign currencies also make good investment choices. The popular one in India are US Dollar, Euro, Pound, Yen. The most popular in the world market are USD, YEN and Swiss Franc. Precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium also add to the choice of investments. Derivatives are a new set of investment vehicles which derive their values from other assets. Hence, there are derivatives on equity shares, bonds, commodities, forex and also on interest rates, energy units, etc. Mutual funds provide a platform to all investors to make use of their professional expertise and experience of seasoned investors who manage the investments on behalf of other investors. There is a plethora of choices in this

segment. We can only add more to the list e.g. business, real estate, art and antiques. What is more important is to understand how we select from this big list. To help an investor decide, certain factors should be considered. The foremost is the ‘purpose’ of investment. One could make a choice between, (1) long-term wealth creation and (2) speculative investments. In the first case, equity shares of large companies can be considered as the first choice. On an average, they have created more wealth than smaller companies; and would most likely continue to do so. Commodities make a good choice if one wishes to be speculative and take advantage of the cyclical nature of the changes in their prices. The prices change with demand-supply imbalances. While wealth creation using equity and commodities offer possibilities of higher growth, they come with higher risk as well. Debt instruments protect the risk of loss and are a better choice if the purpose is capital protection. Another important factor for investors is the availability of ‘investable capital’. If the choice is to make regular investments of smaller amounts, the method of Systematic Investment Plans

(SIPs) is good. The beauty of SIPs is that it can be applied to invest in many assets – mutual funds, equity shares, bank deposits, gold and silver, and the like. It is affordable and convenient. On the other hand, if one has large amount of investable capital, s/he could wait for market corrections to invest in large tranches to maximize returns. One more factor is ‘risk appetite’. One who is hungry for higher returns should be open to riskier choices among equity, debt, commodity, derivatives and even mutual funds. Intelligent choices would be following: (1) large companies in equity, higher rated debt, higher rated mutual funds. We can add gold and silver. Among equity, companies which have higher growth possibilities would help in creating more wealth. Finally, should one do the selection on their own? The answer is yes, only if one is able to spend time first, on acquiring the ‘requisite knowledge and skills’ and then is able to spare time to plan, execute and monitor. A better choice is to engage professional expertise of wealth or investment advisors. Ensure you have a plan and the advisor is unbiased! Happy investing! Create tons of wealth!

The writer teaches at Goa Institute of Management. Email: amiyasahu@gim.ac.in

consultants making fraudulent claims. That COVID-19 has delivered a fatal blow to the business world is a fact and to imagine that the things will be the same once this passes away is nothing short

of delusion. With or without insurance or government’s rescue package, what will make a difference for economic development and comprehensive progress are innovations in business

and industry, revolution in technology and work ethic, paradigm shift in health and education, and a global outlook sans narrow ideological and political boundaries august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 39

Beyond classroom / dr. pradeep salgaonkar

Reinventing brands to cash in on COVID The writer speaks about branding and businesses introducing newer products under their brand name, keeping the present needs of consumers in mind

n the pre-Covid period, whenever I rode a bike, I always used a handkerchief to cover my face to protect it from heat and dust on sunny days, although the ISI mark helmet with a tinted face cover flap covered most part of my face. I had never imagined then, that wearing a face mask would become the order of the day enforced by law, and personally, if I need to protect myself from the deadly virus. I was the odd man out then, but today it’s a part of everyone’s life and is the accepted ‘new normal’. The good part of this is that the mask has become a big business opportunity in terms of manufacturing and selling designer masks, in addition to using the masks in brand building by using the little space available to advertise company logos or products. World famous brands like Disney and the NFL are placing their logos on cloth masks to make them attractive and fun to wear. Some masks feature famous characters such as Mickey & Minnie Mouse. Smaller businesses too are trying to feature their logo or a fast selling product on the face mask. It is a style statement and at the same time a branding exercise deliberately designed. Using the tiny space available on the face mask – this advertising space makes great sense as the advertisement goes places and gets in close visible proximity to many with a direct view of the advertisement. Face masks could be an innovative business idea for the future as well. In addition to branded and designer masks, we may get to see ‘Smart Masks’. The Covid times demand three things to be followed by mankind very seriously if one wants to protect himself, ‘SMS’ – ‘Sanitisation’ time and again, ‘Mask’ to be worn throughout when one is in public places; and ‘Social Distancing’ to avoid contracting the virus. So the face mask is going to be an integral part of everyone’s life at least till the scare of Covid is around. As such, this requirement in the new normal may see an innovative ‘Smart Mask’ being launched which could carry a battery powered smart chip that would automatically trigger a sound or a shock wave to the intruder in one’s personal space of two meters. This chip could also do other functions like maintain the air quality, control temperature under the covered area, release mouth freshener as and when required and send signals to

the mobile device. And yes, this product will make good business, especially if it comes for an established and trusted brand name in the market. Besides the face masks, we have seen a host of business solutions and products emerging in these times revolving around fighting Covid. The famous Patanjali Ayurveda, backed by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, launched ‘Coronil Kit’ and are marketing it as an immunity booster, after it faced strong legal objection for marketing it as a cure for Covid. Dabur has introduced ‘Dabur Immunity Kit’ comprising of six products, besides promoting various immunity boosting products such as Tulsi drops, Chyawanprash and Glucose -D on television and digital platforms. Host of FMCG companies have modified their product offerings around the theme ‘Immunity boosters’. Many businesses have introduced new products to build immunity of people. One can find a host of branded Khadas, Teilas, Nasal drops, Tea mixtures, Biscuits, Herbal meals and even milk and milk products being marketed as immunity boosters. The famous milk brand Amul, in addition to its ‘Haldi’ doodh, has launched two special variants ‘Ginger’ and ‘Tulsi’ doodh in order to boost immunity of people. That’s a great business in the name of fighting Covid and a strong branding exercise too. And yes, these products are being bought by consumers giving good earnings to companies. Businesses taking advantage of their umbrella brand name are introducing newer products or rebranding their products around the present need of people and consumers are buying them for improving overall health. It is quite rational for people to buy these immunity boosters offered by reputed brands whom they have trusted over years. Moreover, people don’t have a choice as they don’t have control over the pandemic. There is no definite cure – the only option left with them is to take control of this situation by resorting to boosting immunity and improving one’s overall health. Whether it is a new offering or an old offering adroitly rebranded and repositioned as an immunity booster, people are going to buy it simply because they trust their parent brand. Hamdard for example which deals with Unani medicine products is re-launching

some of their earlier products, like ‘Hamdard Chyawanprash’ and ‘Ayush Joshanda’ – a health boosting product. The company is running a new campaign ‘#StrongWithHamdard’ that focuses on adopting an alternate medicine system to boost immunity and has also launched ‘Aapka Hamdard’ on radio to amplify the reach and rekindle the love and trust to an age old brand among people. There is a shift happening in the content consumption among people as well, with many people shifting to the OTT (Over-The-Top) platform, and the advertising and promotion too have moved to this platform. Many brands are aggressively promoting their new and rebranded offerings on this platform. It’s cheaper as well, compared to print and television, and accessible as and when required by consumers on demand. OTT serves as a good platform to carry on the branding exercise. Introducing new products or rebranding products to fulfill immunity boosting and improving overall health & wellness needs of people is easy for well-established and trusted brands under the umbrella brand name. They can easily ride on the already existing brand equity and see the new introductions succeed in market. Nestlé may introduce herbal immunity boosting noodles and easily succeed as brand Maggi noodles is enormous and very popular among the youth. Similarly, an immunity boosting chocolate variant could be a new craze among children and parents alike. And a platform such as OTT for promotion would be a perfect match for the target segment. Whether it is the advertising platform such as the tiny space on face mask or the emerging OTT platform, or it is a new product like the smart mask or herbal immunity boosting noodles or chocolate, what is important is how astutely the umbrella brand is being used for generating sales to the new entrant. Whether these products will really serve as immunity boosters and improve health and well-being or not may remain as an unexplored question, but the reality is that it’s all in branding. The stronger the umbrella brand, the more trusted and acceptable will be the new offering coming from this stable. Thus businesses should earn trust and build strong brands to make profits, as ultimately ‘It’s all in Branding’

The writer is Founder Director, Saldots Academy; corporate trainer and facilitator; past chairman of Goa Management Association. Email: pradeepsalgaonkar@gmail.com 40 | Business Goa industry Dossier | august 2020

Uncomplicate Business / sunil dias

Are Vision Statements a waste of your time?

The writer speaks about the kind of vision statements that could be detrimental to one’s business

vision is considered critical for a leader or an organization. A future aspirational state to motivate employees. A beautiful picture to attract potential investors. A story to sell to customers. So, every company from the smallest to the largest has a stated vision and / or mission (and a few other statements!). Vision statements can be great. They can show direction and inspire action. But often, they can lead to indifference at best and chaos at worst. This article looks at signs that your vision statement isn’t really helpful. Or could even be hurting your business. Sign #1: It could be anybody’s vision Can you guess whose vision this is? Our vision is a world in which all people’s basic needs – such as shelter, clean water, sanitation, food and reliable power – are fulfilled in an environmentally sustainable way and a company that improves the quality of the environment and the communities where we live and work. It’s a difficult guess, isn’t it? A vision needs to be distinctive. Something which tells you apart from the competition. If it’s bland and generic, it isn’t going to enthuse anybody. This is Caterpillar’s vision statement. They’re the largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world. Clearly, they aren’t very good at constructing a unique vision. Sign #2: It puts the organization above employees For employees, a leader talking in mystical terms is bad news. They might be trying to disguise a sacrifice by packaging it in fancy words. Take, for instance, a vision that says that a company would do anything for the customer. That statement means that an employee should make sacrifices for customer delight. While that may hold for outlying cases, it’s not a sustainable model. Employees shouldn’t be continually making sacrifices to delight customers. If they are, somethings wrong with the vision and business model. Sacrifice may manifest in several ways. Employees needing to consistently work late to meet customer requirements. Or an employee needing to heed unreasonable client requests. It’s bad for employee morale, health and organizational culture. And

Don’t worry if you haven’t got a fancy sounding vision statement. And if you do have one, don’t despair. Many of the biggest companies in the world have terrible vision statements. Caterpillar, for instance, has consistently been a Fortune 100 company while it may work in the short term, it isn’t sustainable. Sure, Amazon has succeeded despite putting customer delight above employee welfare. Yet, it’s an outlier. For most, happy employees drive customer delight. Sign #3: It’s unbelievable or unachievable This is surprisingly common. A company with a vision statement that’s far removed from reality. For instance, consider the vision statement below To sell food in a fast, friendly environment that appeals to pride conscious, health-minded consumers This was the KFC mission statement in 2013! Fried chicken appealing to health-minded consumers? Sure, there will be health-minded consumers who sometimes (or often) can’t resist fried chicken. Yet, I don’t think too many are fooled into thinking that it’s healthy. We visit KFC despite knowing the food is unhealthy. Another common issue in vision statements is the use of superlatives. To be the world-best, brightest, most admired etc. Yes, aiming for the sky is good. But such vision statements make sense for companies which are already big. If you’re a small sized entity, people won’t believe you. Worse, they might ridicule you. So, what should you do if you are convinced that your company is going to become this world-beating entity? Keep it to yourself! And when you are close to world domination, make your vision statement reflect it. Sign #4: It isn’t inspirational enough My best example of what great vision can do is John F. Kennedy’s vision in 1961. He said, “To land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade.” Neil Armstrong landed

on the moon in 1969. Sure, Kennedy’s vision statement wasn’t the only reason for success. Yet, it kick-started an exercise most thought impossible. The problem is that most vision statements aren’t so inspirational. And that’s not because of lack of intent. The problem is that its often not possible to have a specific and succinct vision for a business. At least one that is universally accepted. A founder’s goal of hitting a billion dollars doesn’t become a great organizational vision. Sign #5: It sounds great but doesn’t mean too much If you ask Donald Trump what his vision is, he’ll tell you that it’s to “Make America Great Again”. Yet, MAGA is a slogan. It is a vision which sounds great. But it doesn’t mean too much. How do you test whether America has become great again? What does greatness mean? Granted, it gets some citizens to more patriotic. But, if you don’t know what the vision means, it’s all a bit meaningless. Closing thoughts A vision alone is dangerous. It needs a plan and robust execution to achieve a vision. It also needs to be flexible. For the few years leading up to 2020, many strategy and business plans had a nice sounding ‘Vision 2020’. See where that led. We’re in 2020 and it’s likely that most of those ‘Vision 2020’ documents were very different from what we’re currently experiencing. All this isn’t to recommend you don’t have a vision. Of course, you need to have one. And crafting a vision statement can be a great way to articulate your vision. What’s a better way? Build a ‘Strategic Narrative’. That’s the story of your company. Everybody loves listening to a story. A story about who you are as a business and where you are going is much more useful for everyone than a bland vision. Only be careful that the narrative is authentic. To conclude, don’t worry if you haven’t got a fancy sounding vision statement. And if you do have one, don’t despair. Many of the biggest companies in the world have terrible vision statements. Caterpillar, for instance, has consistently been a Fortune 100 company. A bad vision statement doesn’t mean poor performance

The author runs iv-advisors, a consulting firm helping businesses become bigger and better. Email:sunildias@iv-advisors.com august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 41

bon Appétit

@businessgoa

Confessions of a Pastéis de Nata Queen

Marlene de Noronha Meneses speaks about her famed Pastéis de Nata and bringing this Portuguese dessert to Goa Pastéis de Nata

Marlene de Noronha Meneses

By Sybil Rodrigues

astéis de Nata, the famed Portuguese custard tarts, was created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the Hieronymites Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) in the civil parish of Saint Mary of Bethlehem or Belém, in Lisbon. At that time, convents and monasteries used large quantities of egg-whites for starching clothes, such as friars and nuns’ religious habits. It was quite common for monasteries and convents to use the leftover egg yolks to make cakes and pastries, resulting in the proliferation of sweet pastry recipes throughout the country. Following the extinction of the religious orders and in the face of the impending closure of many of the convents and monasteries in the aftermath of the Liberal Revolution of 1820, the monks started selling pastéis de nata at a nearby sugar refinery to bring in some revenue. In 1834, the monastery was closed and the recipe was sold to the sugar refinery, whose owners in 1837 opened the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém. The descendants own the business to this day. Over time, others tried to imitate them but could not do so. However they went ahead and continued selling them. The original ones continued to be called Pastéis de Belém and all others are Pastéis de Nata. The pastéis are now made across the country and are available at virtually all cafés and restaurants in Portugal. In Goa, when one says Pastéis de Nata

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the name that pops up in everyone’s mind is that of Marlene de Noronha Meneses. Marlene worked for nearly 15 years at Goa Marriott Resort, major part of it in sales. For the last 1½ years of her tenure there, she worked on a part time basis (only mornings) due to health and other reasons. Even though she had quit, she was offered work on a part time basis to consolidate and increase sales of the ‘social’ sector which she did successfully. Marlene has been a hobby baker for a long time though this baking was limited to only ‘family cooking’ or at the most parties and events at home. “Since the lockdown I had more free time and therefore decided to use it in order to bring to the people of Goa, a Portuguese delicacy which was appreciated by many when I had baked it for one of my functions at home.” Marlene elaborates on her reason for zeroing-in on Pastéis de Nata as her specialty. “In 2006, when I visited Portugal, I had my first Pastel de nata and never forgot the taste. I had been searching this dessert but no one seemed to be able to give it to me. I finally decided to take the plunge and make it myself. I requested my close relatives who were coming down from Portugal to bring the moulds as well as the recipe which I experimented a couple of times and then baked them for a function at home. It was well appreciated by all including some who were well travelled and had tried them in Portugal as well as some guests who had come down from Portugal.” Thus she decided to prepare the dessert

on a regular basis (on prior orders only) and made it her signature offering. The process of making this dessert is very time consuming and tedious as the dough is to be kneaded, prepared independently and the custard filling made separately, but they are baked together! Marlene says, “Getting the consistencies of both right is the challenge but I am now beginning to master that part!” Marlene has received an excellent response from her customers. “The response is very satisfying especially when I get appreciated by the Portuguese who have come down to Goa or by persons who have travelled to Portugal and have tasted the Pastéis there!” she adds. Marlene goes on to speak about her customers and the outlets she supplies to. “Over a period of time, I have developed a good social connect and this has helped me reach out! I am happy to have a varied clientele and from many parts of Goa. There are those who have travelled and have eaten them before as well as first time eaters of the Pastéis which are quite a few!” Marlene has started delivering to select pre-determined points in North Goa on Wednesdays and to South Goa on Saturdays (both evenings). Before the lockdown a few outlets/ cafés used to stock the Pastéis but due to lock down they have stopped. At present only Caravela Café and Bistro at Panjim stocks them. Marlene opines on the rise of home bakers making pastéis de nata especially during the lockdown given that it was literally unheard of a few a few months back. “It is very good that more people are making pastéis now. That way many more people will be able to eat this fantastic delicacy.” Speaking about her future plans Marlene says that she has started a venture called Marlene’s Tasty Treats in addition to the Pastéis de Nata. “I have just introduced Empadinhas (Pies) and jam tarts which are made using old Goan family recipes. My idea is to bring to the table, food that is otherwise not available in Goa, on a regular basis.” Marlene signs off with a few words of advice to aspiring bakers and dessert specialists. “Listen to what the people want and act accordingly…be unique! Always accept and be ready to take feedback whether it is good, bad or ugly… only then will you succeed”

@businessgoamagazine

Clanny Rodrigues and Ryan Pinheiro make Goa proud at the Bake Off: The Professionals finals

Clanny Rodrigues

he fifth series of the Bake Off: The Professionals saw Goan duo, Clanny Rodrigues (from Ponda) and Ryan Pinheiro (from Loutolim)

Ryan Pinheiro

winning the second place after narrowly missing the top honours to French chefs, Laurian Veaudor and Thibault Courtoisier.

It was a very difficult decision for Judges Benoit Blin and co-judge Cherish Finden to pick the final winner, but they praised Ryan and Clanny for taking them on a “journey of discovery.” Clanny Rodrigues and Ryan Pinheiro, who represented The Ivy and worked hard through nine weeks of intense competition did not win the trophy but classed as finalists. Clanny and Ryan both grew up in Goa and are both Head Pastry Chefs – Clanny for Members’ Club, Ivy Club; and Ryan at The Ivy, London’s main restaurant. They have baked desserts for the Queen, JK Rowling and Prince William, to name

a few. The finals were conducted over two days. Day one was timed for two and a half hours wherein they had to prepare two, twenty-four filled chocolates, and an edible chocolate hat that was worn by a model strutting down the catwalk. Their recipes consisted of Goan and Indian flavours, from Gulab jamun, semolina, coconut, cashew, Indian chai, and not to forget Bebinca, Ryan’s mother’s recipe. On the second day, the brief was to prepare a historic banquet for The King or Queen. The Ivy team based their presentation on India’s Independence Day, complete with all Indian recipes

august 2020 | Business Goa industry Dossier | 43

bon Appétit

@businessgoa

Tasty, terrific and tantalizing ‘tiffins’ at your service! The Tiffin Factory brightens your day with the best tiffin experience; worthy of every penny and leaves the taste buds simply craving for more Cafreal box

Red Thai box

By ameya nayak

hether it is the contents, the taste, the quantity or simply the appearance, all of us wish we had the most satisfying tiffin when hunger kicks in – and that is what The Tiffin Factory is all about. TTF, a cloud kitchen started by Sameer and his wife Supriya Borkar alongside Dr. Vibhas Prabhudesai and Dr. Ancia Vaz is nothing but a virtual kitchen with no dine-in set up that kickstarted the idea of providing the most attractive and flavoursome tiffins one must have ever had. Speaking of how TTF was born, Sameer and Supriya say that their frequent meets with Vibhas and Ancia usually revolved around discussing the best culinary practices in town, since they all happen to possess strong culinary traits themselves. Though the four of them hail from diverse professions (Sameer and Supriya being entrepreneurs; while Vibhas and Ancia being doctors), their passion for cooking and serving is their meeting ground. Surprised by the fact that TTF actually happened Sameer says “The idea actually came to us while savouring a simple home-made fish thali. It’s difficult for us to believe that TTF started just in a day without having much to plan!” TTF set foot in the culinary business with the ubiquitous ‘fish thali’ that was available in every nook and corner of the state but was not served as an ‘easy-eat’ meal option anywhere. That is when TTF made the fish thali available in ‘bento’ boxes so that having the thali was made convenient and hassle free. From then on, there was no looking back. Today, TTF has an extensive vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian menu ranging from mouth watering Goan cuisine to the conventional Indian favourites to Thai boxes and what not. The menu is such that it can easily cater to everyone’s subjective

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(Standing) Sameer Borkar and Dr Vibhas Prabhudessai; (Sitting) Supriya Borkar and Dr Ancia Vaz

needs where they get to choose from a long list of vegetarian, egg, chicken and seafood varieties. A few favourites worth mentioning would include The Chicken Cafreal Box, The Mushroom Xacuti Box, The Slurpy Chicken Noodles Box, The Green / Yellow /Red Thai Boxes, The Goan Special Fish and Chicken Thali and many more. Elaborating on the operational aspect of the venture, Sameer says that all the operations of TTF are carried out online; right from receiving orders to dispatching them. The logistics are completely outsourced to food aggregators such as Swiggy and Zomato so that the core team can focus solely on its strengths, the ‘food!’ Personally, I myself am a huge fan of TTF! When I first heard of this unique venture delivering tiffins catering to my tastes, it did not take me a minute to go ahead and order for myself, The Goan Chicken Thali. The best part about the tiffins from TTF is the manner in which a delectable array of food items are placed in each box. The Thali I ordered had a filling serving of

the Goan Pulao, Chicken Xacuti, Chicken Cafreal, a Roti, some Tossed Tandoori Salad and the best part - a ‘Motichoor Laddoo’ for dessert! That aside, their Thai Boxes and The Daawat-e-Awadh Box serving jeera rice alongside Murgh Makhni and lip-smacking Seekh Kebabs has made its way straight to my heart. As far as the vegetarian menu goes, The Mushroom Biryani is an absolute favourite. More importantly, TTF during the month of ‘Shravan’ also offers The Shravan Box which contains a wholesome serving of some flavourful ghee rice, varan, a vegetable bhaaji, some veggie crisps (fodi) depending on availability of vegetables and some Kheer as dessert! As someone who is personally very fond of authentic Goan ‘no onion, no garlic’ food, I’d say the Shravan Box from TTF is every vegetarians dream come true! Sameer and Supriya express their delight over the tremendous love they have received for their meals. Supriya says “People spend 50% less when they purchase our meals because of the combinations that we offer. A single Thai meal in a restaurant costs an average of 1000 bucks but our customers pay not more than `350 bucks for a complete meal which is of the finest quality.” TTF aims to reach out to serve all age groups and every pocket size. They are focused on offering reasonably priced home-style food options especially to office goers, who on most occasions are unable to find the time to cook themselves a meal. Speaking of their plan for the future, Sameer and Supriya say “This year we wish to focus more on being highly customer centric. With the quality, taste and hygienic packing arrangements, we wish to focus on the best customer experience and delight. We plan to become not just a promising cloud kitchen but also promising employers and participate in several CSR activities. We plan to further strengthen our partnership with food aggregators and suppliers since they are the backbone of our business.” Finally, leaving a brief message for their loyal and beloved customer base, Sameer and Supriya wholeheartedly thank their customers for placing their trust in them and TTF even during these difficult times of the COVID pandemic and helping them serve their customers with the best culinary experience they can!

NewsMakers Damodar Mauzo’s book ‘Tishttavnni’ released Senior author and litterateur, Damodar Mauzo has released his new book, Tishttavnni in a virtual book unveiling event. The title of his book means ‘a long wait’ and contains 10 stories written between 2014 and 2020. These stories deal with different issues and depict human relationships. Mauzo was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for the novel Karmelin and the Vimala V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar award for his novel Tsunami Simon in 2011. His collection of short stories, Teresa’s Man and Other Stories from Goa was nominated for the Frank O’Connor International award in 2015

Brahmanand Shankhwalkar is Chairman of Goa Football Development Council

Goa’s first Arjuna Award winner, Brahmanand Shankhwalkar, has been appointed Chairman of Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) Brahmanand is a former Indian footballer and has captained the national team from 1983 to 1986. He debuted for team India in 1975. He was made India captain at the Nehru Cup, 1983 and led the team till 1986. He was a part of the Indian squad that competed at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, and also captained the team against the visiting Bochum XI side from Germany in 1986. He finished his international career with over 50 caps

Anwesha Singbal first woman to be elected President of Konkani Bhasha Mandal

Well known Konkani writer and activist Anwesha Singbal has been elected unopposed as President of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal (KBM), thus becoming the first-ever woman to take charge of the organization as its President since its inception in 1962. She succeeded Chetan Acharya who led KBM since 2012. Associated with KBM since 2008, Singbal has two books published in her name and her poetry book, Sulus has received the Yuva Puraskar awarded by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi

134 1. Which famous British business publication was founded in 1888 by James Sheridan and his brother? 2. In 1996, in which city was the fifth Indian Institute of Management established? 3. Which US President played a key role in setting up the Stanford Graduate School of Business? 4. The 1989 film ‘Roger & Me’ is about which US corporation? 5. Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen launched which company in 1994? 6. Identify this famous designer Answers to BG Quiz 133: 1.Mitsubishi 2.National Broadcasting Company 3.Robert Redford 4.Prada 5. Max New York Life 6. Cipla 7.Shopper’s Stop 8.Dabur 9. George Westinghouse Email your answers to businessgoa.media@gmail.com First all correct entry will get 1 year’s subscription to Business Goa

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