Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday expressed concern over the growing dominance of migrants in several traditional occupations in Goa, stating that the coastal state was gradually being turned into “their own Dubai” as local youth moved away from skilled trades and self-employment opportunities.
Speaking at the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) Next event in Sanquelim, organised by the Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce, Sawant urged Goan youth to reclaim sectors such as plumbing, electrical work, tailoring and beauty services through entrepreneurship and government-backed schemes.
“If you search for a plumbing contractor or an electrical contractor in Goa today, you will struggle to find local people. These sectors are now being dominated by people coming from outside the state,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister said many occupations that were once traditionally run by Goans were steadily slipping away due to a lack of interest among local youth in taking up skilled work and running businesses independently.
Addressing students and PMEGP beneficiaries, Sawant stressed that entrepreneurship begins with the willingness to think independently and take risks.
“The first step is the thought process and curiosity to do business. Once that comes, success follows,” he said.
Sawant encouraged youth not to depend entirely on salaried employment and instead use government financial assistance schemes to become job creators. He contrasted the earning potential of entrepreneurship with regular employment.
“In a job, your salary may stop at Rs 50,000, but in business, your profits can reach Rs 5 lakh,” he remarked.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the stories of local entrepreneurs who benefited from schemes such as PMEGP and Mudra loans.
He cited the example of Suresh Patil, who operates an agarbatti manufacturing unit, earns around Rs 30,000 per month and employs two workers.
Sawant also referred to entrepreneur Ratnadeep Sawant, who reportedly left his job and started a tailoring and sports T-shirt manufacturing business using a Rs 2 lakh Mudra loan to buy his first machine. According to the Chief Minister, the businessman later expanded through the PMEGP scheme and now owns machinery worth over Rs 4 crore, earns nearly Rs 1.5 lakh per month and employs 35 women while exporting products to seven countries.
The Chief Minister further mentioned a dry fruits entrepreneur who packages and markets branded products and earns approximately Rs 1.5 lakh every month. He also cited another businessman who established a processing unit using a Rs 40 lakh loan and now generates similar earnings.
Sharing another example, Sawant said a local worker invested Rs 1.5 lakh in sourcing and packaging organic mangoes and earned profits of nearly Rs 3 lakh within one and a half months.
Sawant said the government was trying to create awareness among students and young entrepreneurs about available financial support and employment-generation schemes.
Expressing hope that the awareness programme would inspire more youth to start businesses, he said, “After three years, someone from this audience should come to me and say they started a successful business because they attended this programme.”
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