Goa’s way forward: Panel explores global trends and local implications

Margo: In the session titled “Global Economic Outlook and Financial Markets”, chaired by Damodar Kochkar, former Chairman, Varna Industrial Estate, participants presented their perspectives with passion and precision.

When Kingshuk Sarkar, Associate Professor, Goa Institute of Management, was asked for his views on the state of the global economy, he said that the world economy has not yet reached pre-Covid times. Factors such as CPVID-19, the Ukraine war, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza have contributed to this situation. The global growth rate was 2.4%, which is expected to increase to 3.20% next year. Discussing global inflation, he noted that it is currently 5.8% and is expected to fall to 4.2% in 2025, with central banks working to keep inflation low.

Satish Kotakota, CFO of Tharaka Inc., expressed confidence in India’s growth and suggested that Goa would need to make itself more attractive to investors.
The third speaker in this panel, researcher and documentary filmmaker Wensi Mendes, emphasized the importance of land and water for the people of Goa. Kingshuk said Goa is still looking for post-mining solutions and highlighted the need to diversify into manufacturing, which has not happened yet due to lack of land policy.

He suggested that Goa could learn from places like Macau and replicate their success. However, Venci argued that the assumption that Goa had the highest per capita income was flawed due to strong class and caste differences in the statistics. He also mentioned that the startup ecosystem in Goa was process-driven.
Regarding the way forward, Kingshuk stressed the importance of environment-friendly practices and the need for collaboration with the government. Satish suggested that Goa should focus on attracting manufacturing, IT and other industries to set up operations in the state.