Panaji: The department of industries has given chief executive officer of the Goa Investment Promotion and Facilitation Board Vishal Prakash additional charge of the department of information technology’s Startup Promotion Cell. 

Startups in Goa have to be certified by the Start-up Promotion Cell before they can be eligible for incentives under the Goa Startup Policy 2018. According to under secretary for industries A S Mahatme, the IT department is in the process of selecting a full-time chief executive officer to head the cell. 

Sources said that IT minister Rohan Khaunte and secretary for IT Ameya Abhyankar met with Prakash to discuss the strategy for the functioning of the cell. 

Prakash has also been tasked with formulating the Goa logistics policy and Goa export policy. Officials in the IT department said that Prakash’s appointment is in line with the objective to make Goa a startup hub for innovation and knowledge startups.