“I PRIORITISE TWO THINGS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT”

IN an interaction with Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld Group, the Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant speaks about the 60th year of Goa’s independence, massive strides the state is making in the start-up space, inclusive development and self-dependency.

- Annurag Batra

What keeps you going from early morning to late evening at work?

The work I do is for my state and country, and I have no qualms working from morning till evening. I work tirelessly for 16 to 18 hours every day, and I do it willingly.

It is 60th year of Goa’s formation. What is your plan for the state henceforth?

Just like we are celebrating India with ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’, we will be celebrating ‘Goa at 60’ in the state from December 19, 2020 onwards, with the Prime Minister also present at the inauguration. We had multiple plans within and outside the state, however we were not able to execute them fully given the pandemic situation the nation was engulfed with. However, we have a multitude of programmes for the upcoming two months. There will be minimum 60 programmes in the state alone. We have already launched a ‘Government at Your Doorstep’ (Sarkar Tumchya Dari) programme, following which all government services will be available at the people’s doorstep.

Over the last few years, Goa has tried to make itself a startup hub that is attractive for investors. Startups mean innovation, jobs, they can solve issues with the use of technology. How is Goa going to become complimentary to the innovation hub in Bangalore and elsewhere in the country?