@business-goa
each member today has an YI app where they have access to all the information of activities happening across all chapters. So there is massive exchange of ideas taking place and whatever is relevant chapter wise is taken up for implementation. The National Body conducts many learning and leadership webinars throughout the year for us to brainstorm innovative ideas. What areas of focus are you planning to work on during this term? Our focus this year is entirely on rural youth and all our activities our inclined towards benefitting them. A decade ago, we Indians were complaining that because of enormous population India is lagging behind the world. Fortunately, the same enormous population adversity has turned into a blessing in disguise for India. Presently, India boasts of having the largest youth population in the world and the distribution ratio of Urban to Rural is 1:1. Consequently, 27 crores youth stay in Rural India and the same number stay in Urban India. The question we should ask ourselves is whether the rural youth has access to the same opportunities, education, conducive environment, etc. that the urban youth has. The answer is a big NO. Hence, this year Yi is trying to do their bit to uplift and provide access to the rural youth of India. How has the ‘Talking Talukas’ initiative taken off? Young Indians is more than glad to collaborate with GDP foundation for the Talking Taluka initiative as its resonates with the Three Pillars philosophy of YI. We strongly believe that, The Talking talukas initiative being conducted in all 11 Talukas of Goa will be successful in discovering hidden talent which will be beneficial to the rural youth
and their own community at large. Young Indians is also glad to be associated with Xaxti Riders for their talent search initiative for their cyclist training program and have sponsored a road bike for the same. Discovering hidden talent from the rural landscape will bring about a ripple effect in terms of positivity and ‘can do’ attitude amongst the rural youth. As an entrepreneur and association leader, where do you look for inspiration and ideas to make a difference? My father, Mohan Raikar is my inspiration. When times are tough and I complain about things not falling in place, I think about my father, his journey and hardships, and how he persevered and achieve success despite limited resources at his disposal. This gives me immense strength and belief to face any adversity coming my way. The amount of faith that he shows in me makes me push myself harder to experiment different things professionally. Having witnessed his transformation from a successful businessman to a social entrepreneur motivates me to get involved in community service. He being a philanthropist and always eager to help someone in need inspires me to do my bit for the society. What is your mantra to fight the pandemic? What do you expect the government to do? The Government lockdown continues. The decision to allow industry to operate with strict protocols is something that I am in favour of. Without the industry functioning, the economy will be in doldrums. Also, in the industrial sector, there is more restricted movement and safety protocols can be implemented effectively. Again, some industries which can voluntarily lockdown must give it a thought. In my businesses,
we have temporarily shut our manufacturing units catering to the non-essential goods and we are operating units that manufacture essential goods. All this, by strictly adhering to all safety protocols. The Government decision this time to keep the industry open is a big relief for all industrialists because after a dreadful last year things were just getting back to normal in the first quarter of the calendar year, a second lockdown would have killed the spirit of budding, struggling but promising entrepreneurs. On the policy level, I believe there are discussions in the Government regarding increasing the electricity tariffs. This is a retrograde step and bad timing to levy any additional costs on industry. The Government, learning from such pandemics, should try to upgrade the facilities and equipments at primary health care centres, so that the patient load could be distributed rather than it being concentrated only on two major government hospitals. Visitors requiring a RTPCR test to enter Goa is an on and off debate. When in the neighboring States it is mandatory. So why not in Goa? How do you balance the work of Yi and your business? Share your ideas on multi-tasking? The reason I could take up the Yi Chairmanship and devote time is because I have a strong and efficient team at my workplace. I do not have to run around for my daily operations. Hiring the right person is vital for any organization, then comes empowerment and delegation. Planning your day with the help of a to-do list and prioritizing the list as per importance helps me utilize my work hours efficiently. Also, allotting time slots or different days altogether for some special tasks or assignments makes me focus more effectively.
How do you see Goa as a destination for business in a covidised world? When the entire nation was at standstill last year, Goa was open for tourism. In fact a new jargon ‘Staycation’ was coined, and Goa was number one on the preferred list. People booked long term accommodation and were happily enjoying their work from home period vacationing in Goa. I don’t see any reason why this would not continue on a long term, may be not for everyone but am sure it would work for many. Physical workspace boundaries will be diminished for companies who can manage getting their work done remotely and save a ton on physical infrastructure costs. Goa already tops the preferred list; this just might be another segment Goa has to watch out for. I am an optimistic person; In Goa, I see lot of scope for small and medium scale industries to scale to big heights. Many MNCs operating from Goa still have to depend for their requirements on vendors outside the State. At times, existing Goan suppliers lose out to out of State competitors due to lack of product quality, the reason being may still use obsolete technology. Out of State suppliers are technologically advanced and use sophisticated machinery which enable them to produce better quality products and at a cost effective price. A huge opportunity lies ahead for the young Goan entrepreneur; however, the business model has to be sustainable and stand the test of time including the pandemic. Also, it is high time the Government realizes that it cannot depend only on the tourism industry. Yes, put in efforts to thrive tourism but do not turn a blind eye towards other industry sectors. We are also your taxpayers and deserve to be heard and pleased
MAY 2021 | BUSINESS GOA INDUSTRY DOSSIER | 31
