A seminar was held recently (Feb 27) at the Goa University titled *The Economy of Goa Since Liberation*. Some of the abstracts presented were as follows:
Finance Commission awards and the State of Goa: An overview By Makarand Chikodikar, Lecturer, GVM Farmaguddi "The paper is based on a survey of papers related to Centre-State financial relations from 1990 to 2004. It can be said that Goa's relative share of tax devolution, grants-in-aid and total transfers have been reduced from the Ninth to Eleventh Finance Commission. The tax-SDP ratio of Goa shows an improvement over a period of time. Goa's own revenue as a percentage of total expenditure has also been improving. Finally, there is scope for further research with reference to the tax effort, fiscal autonomy and fiscal decentralisation, etc related to the State of Goa". Goa's Industrial Sector and its Contribution to the Economy By Rovina Fernandes, Lecturer, Goa University "Though the small-scale sector is the backbone of Goa's industrial strength, the rate of growth of employment by this sector has been falling significantly for most of the years of the study period (1987-2003)." There is a lack of well- planned and focussed strategy of industrial development on the part of the government that would best suit the interests of the state." Dancing to the tune of the Waves: An assessment of Goan fisheries By Avinash V Raikar, Lecturer, CES College, Cuncolim "Over the years, the harvest of mackerals (in Goa) is on the decline.... A number of problems have grappled the Goan fishing sector. The number of trawlers fishing on the Goan coast are much more than can be environmentally sustained. As a result, there is a fall in the yeild as well as in exports." Analysis of marine exports from Goa Branda Rodrigues, Lecturer, Damodar College "The evolution of Goa's fishing industry and its manifold impact on the state's socio-economic environment has not been sufficiently researched.... There are an estimated 400 tidal fish/prawn filtration farms along the banks. The fresh water resources of Goa state are comparatively very limited. Some 95% of the Goan population consumes fish as their main protein source. Till the close of 1960, the export of Indian marine products main consisted of dried items.... With the devaluation of the Indian currency in 1966, the frozen and canned items registered a significant rise..." Awakening Goans to rice By Gulab A Borkar, Lecturer, GVM College, Farmaguddi "Though rice has always been the staple food in Goa, the production was always found insufficient to feed the entire population. Some half-hearted efforts were made by the Portuguese government in 1955 to look into the matter..." Role of the Mormugao port in the Goan economy, with special reference to the mining industry in Goa By SHashikant A Morajkar The port enjoys an enviable position among the major ports of the world due to various reasons. It is the premier iron exporting port of India, with an annual output of over 18 million tonnes of iron ore traffic, accounting for 50% of India's iron ore exports. Thus, the port ranks within the first ten leading iron-exporting ports of the world. Service sector's growth and sustainability in Goa: autonomous or dependent on the manufacturing sector? By Geetanjali R Urankar, GVM College In the last four decades, Goa's economy has structurally transformed itself from an agrarian, import-based trading economy into a rapidly-growing service-based economy economy. In Goa, the service sector has registered a rapid growth along with a relativelyslow growing secondary or manufacturing sector. Findings of the paper are (i) The tertiary sector's growth is not autonomous but largely dependent on the fast growth of the secondary sector (ii) the net state domestic product of the state grew at a high rate of 15% over the last 30 years.... (iii) Within the tertiary sector, trade, hotels, banking and insturance are the major sectors contributing to the tertiary sector growth. Though hotels are contributing more due to tourism, the growth of trade, banking and insutrance as also transport and storage is not only due to tourism but also to a large extent due to the growth in the manufacturing sector activities. Tourism and economic development of Goa By Jag Mohan Singh, Mallikarjun College, Canacona This paper is based on a primary survey conducted during 1998 to 2001. Contribution of tourism in the economic development of Goa has been assessed by (i) Calculating gross income generated by tourism (ii) foreign exchange earned by tourism and (iii) employment opportunities generated by tourism. Details from Dr S M Noronha, Department of Economics, Goa University. (EOM) ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################