Certification Program for Goan IT Professionals

What is the Certification Program for Goan IT Professionals?

Certification Program for Goan IT Professionals, 2018 is an individual reimbursement scheme of the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Goa. It is one of the schemes framed under the Goa Information Technology Policy 2018, notified on 18 July 2018, and it sits under the policy's human capital development chapter, clause 6.4.1.a.

The reasoning behind it is explicit in the policy. Goa wants to be, in the policy's words, an aspirational geographical and human resource base for IT units. That requires a local workforce that carries the vendor certifications employers actually screen for, and vendor certifications are expensive relative to a young professional's salary. The scheme meets half that cost.

According to the scheme notification, Goan IT professionals can avail reimbursement up to 50% of the expenditure incurred for obtaining certifications for improving their employability. The certifications must be by vendors or by authorised training partners of the vendors, and the Department of IT maintains a list of courses and certifications eligible for reimbursement, updated from time to time.

This is an individual scheme. It is separate from the Quality Certification Reimbursement Scheme in the same policy, which reimburses units for company level certifications such as ISO and CMMI.

Who is eligible for the IT certification reimbursement?

You can apply if:

• You are an individual of Goan origin.
• You are qualified to work in the IT industry, the scheme requires the degree or diploma and the full set of marksheets from Class XII upwards.
• Your bank account is linked to Aadhaar.
• The certification is relevant to the IT industry and is on, or consistent with, the approved list.
• The certification was provided by an OEM vendor or by an authorised training partner of the vendor.
• You completed the certification during the operation of the policy.

You cannot apply if:

• You are availing similar financial incentives under any other policy of the Government of Goa. The scheme expressly excludes this double-dipping.
• You are not of Goan origin and cannot produce one of the accepted proofs.
• Your bank account is not Aadhaar-linked.
• The certification is not relevant to the IT industry, or was obtained from a training provider who is neither the vendor nor an authorised partner.
• The certification was completed outside the operating period of the policy.

Proof of Goan origin can be established by any one of the following, which is a usefully wide test:

1. Birth certificate of yourself, or of a parent born in Goa;
2. Domicile certificate or residence certificate issued by the State Government; or
3. Marriage certificate together with proof of Goan residence of the spouse, and for the spouse, any of the documents at (1) to (3) may be submitted.

Which certifications are on the approved list?

The scheme's list is expressly not exhaustive and is subject to change by the supported Committee. As notified, it includes:

• Cloud and infrastructure, Amazon Web Services certifications including AWS Certified Developer, VMware certifications, Citrix certifications (CCP-V, CCA-N), Red Hat certifications.
• Networking and security; Cisco certifications (CCNA, CCDA, CCNP, CCIE, CISSP), Juniper certifications, CompTIA certifications (A+, CTP+, CDIA+, Network+ and others), EC-Council certifications, (ISC)2 certifications.
• Platforms and databases: Microsoft certifications (MCITP, MCSA/MCSE, Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist and others), Oracle certifications (Oracle Certified Professional, Oracle Certified Administrator, MCDBA), SAP Developer, Apple (ACSP, ACTC), Adobe certifications.
• Process, governance and project management: ITIL knowledge V2 or V3, PMI certifications, Prince2 certifications, APMG certifications, ISACA certifications, certifications on Agile methodology, Certified Scrum Master.
• Development and systems — programming through C, C++, Python, Java and similar; development of mobile applications using Android with project; web application technologies including the LAMP stack, J2EE and ASP.Net; computer system and server administration; Logical Operations certificates.

If your certification is not named but is clearly an IT industry certification from a vendor or authorised partner, it is worth applying, the list is explicitly stated to include "but not be limited to" these items.

What documents does the claim need?

1. Copy of Aadhaar.
2. Proof of Goan origin, any one of the three routes above.
3. Copies of all marksheets from Class XII through the highest level of education obtained.
4. Copy of degree or diploma.
5. Copies of the certificates for which the subsidy is being claimed.
6. Proof of payment for the certifications.
7. Voided cheque for the account into which the reimbursement will be credited.

Alongside these, the scheme requires the application form for individuals (Annexure 1) and the declaration form for individuals (Annexure 2). The application form itself asks for the name of the certificate vendor or certifying authority, the date of certification and the expenses incurred for each certification claimed, the total amount claimed, and your bank account details.

How to apply for the Goan IT certification reimbursement

1. Complete the certification first. This is a reimbursement scheme, so the expenditure must already have been incurred before a claim can be filed.
2. Collect the proof of payment for the certification at the time you pay. Recovering a receipt from a vendor months later is harder than it sounds.
3. Fill the application form for individuals (Annexure 1), listing each certification with its vendor or certifying authority, the date obtained and the expense incurred, and the total amount claimed.
4. Sign the declaration form for individuals (Annexure 2), confirming that the particulars are correct and that you accept the terms of sanction.
5. Attach the seven document uploads, Aadhaar, proof of Goan origin, all marksheets from Class XII upwards, degree or diploma, the certificates claimed, proof of payment, and a voided cheque.
6. Submit the forms and documents to the Due Diligence Committee of the Department of Information Technology. The scheme permits submission by email or on the web portal.
7. Track the 90-day timeline from receipt: scrutiny and due diligence by day 30, supported Committee approval by day 60, sanction order or regret letter and disbursement by day 90.

How is the claim decided and paid?

The Due Diligence Committee examines the application against the checklist, and the supported Committee is the competent authority to accept or reject any claim. The scheme states that the decision of the Committee is final and binding on the applicant.

Once approved, the amount is disbursed to the bank account evidenced by the voided cheque. The scheme's disbursement timeline is published as a table, which is unusual and useful, it gives an applicant a documented basis for following up if day 90 passes without a sanction order or a regret letter.

Claims may be filed quarterly, half-yearly or annually after the expenditure is incurred, so a professional taking several certifications over a year can either batch them into one claim or file as they go.

Why do certification claims get rejected?

• Proof of Goan origin not established by any of the three accepted routes.
• Bank account not linked to Aadhaar, which is an express eligibility condition.
• Certification not from an OEM vendor or authorised training partner. A certificate from an unaffiliated coaching institute does not qualify however good the training was.
• Certification not relevant to the IT industry.
• Similar incentive already availed under another Government of Goa policy.
• Proof of payment missing or partial, so the 50% cannot be computed.
• Marksheets incomplete. The scheme asks for every marksheet from Class XII upwards, not just the highest qualification.
• Certification obtained outside the operating period of the policy.

Where do I complain?

The first point of contact is the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Goa, whose scheme pages are at dit.goa.gov.in. The supported Committee is the deciding authority under the scheme, and the Department is where a delayed file is pursued against the 90-day timeline published in the notification.

The Government of Goa's public grievance registration route at goaonline.gov.in is the escalation path where the Department's response is unsatisfactory.

Practical points

• Check the current notification before you spend. The 2018 scheme was framed to remain in force for 5 years from its publication on 23 August 2018. The IT policy and its schemes have been reviewed since, so ask the Department of IT what is operative today rather than assuming.
• Do not take the same benefit twice. If your employer's unit is claiming employee certification costs under another Goa IT policy scheme, you cannot also claim personally.
• Keep the vendor's receipt, not just the certificate. The certificate proves you passed; only the payment proof fixes the money.
• Batch your claims sensibly. Filing annually reduces paperwork, but filing quarterly gets cash back sooner and tests the process before you have spent a year's certification budget.
• The related company-side scheme is the Quality Certification Reimbursement Scheme, which is for the IT unit rather than the individual. If you run a small IT business in Goa, that is the one to read next.

How to check your application status

The scheme notification does not describe a public online tracker with a reference number that an applicant can log into and check, so status checking here means following up directly with the people who process the claim rather than watching a portal.

What you already have to work with

• The date you submitted your Annexure 1 application form, Annexure 2 declaration, and the seven supporting documents, either by email or through the web portal.
• The published 90-day disbursement timeline: scrutiny and due diligence by day 30, approval by the supported Committee by day 60, and a sanction order or a regret letter with disbursement by day 90.

That timeline is the tool for status checking. Note the date you submitted, then treat each of the three markers as a checkpoint rather than waiting passively for the full 90 days to pass.

Steps to follow up

1. Keep your submission acknowledgement. If you applied by email, keep the sent email and any acknowledgement reply. If you applied on the web portal, keep the confirmation screen or reference generated at submission, since this is what you will quote when you follow up.
2. Wait past day 30 before your first check. This is when scrutiny and due diligence are supposed to be complete, so it is the earliest point a follow-up is meaningful.
3. Contact the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Goa directly, by email or through the scheme page at dit.goa.gov.in, quoting your submission date and the certifications claimed, to ask where the file stands in the Due Diligence Committee's review.
4. Check again around day 60 if you have not heard back, since this is when the supported Committee is meant to have decided.
5. If day 90 passes with neither a sanction order nor a regret letter, that is a clear, documented basis for escalation, since the scheme itself commits to one or the other by that date.
6. Escalate through the Government of Goa's public grievance registration route at goaonline.gov.in if the Department does not respond to direct follow-up. Quote the application date, the 90-day timeline in the notification, and the fact that neither outcome has been communicated.

Because the decision of the supported Committee is stated to be final and binding, a status follow-up before that decision is about tracking progress, while a follow-up after a regret letter is about understanding the stated reason rather than disputing the outcome through this same channel.