'Goa govt trying to attract fresh investment for job creation'

The Goa government is working on creating more employment opportunities for locals by attracting fresh investments in the private sector, the Legislative Assembly was told Wednesday. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the House that there are 55,000 employees in the government, and there are limitations to increase the strength further.

"In such scenario, the government is banking on more investment in the industrial sector to create employment opportunities for locals," the chief minister said while replying to the motion of thanks on the address of Goa Governor Mridula Sinha. Sawant said 35 per cent of the state economy is dependent on the industrial sector, but there has been lull on the investment front due to various reasons.

"We have decided to attract more investment through state-run Investment Promotion Board (IPB) so that newer employment opportunities are created,' he said. Sawant, who also holds education portfolio, said "few courses in Goa University need to be revisited as they have stopped providing vertical mobility to the students".

He said skill development would be given a priority so that the students become employable in various sectors..