At a time when the Indian economy is crippling through slowdown with people losing confidence in the economy, Naveen Patnaik’s Odisha, however, has emerged as a silver lining in the horizon of Indian economy.
The State, which is governed by the 5T principles, has been able to turn the table and has emerged as the major destination in terms of fresh investments in the first half of the financial year, 2019-2020.
As per the latest report by CARE Ratings, Odisha has surpassed Maharashtra in attracting fresh investments during April-September 2019, registering an 18 percent of the overall investment drawn. Against Odisha, Maharashtra garnered 16 percent of the total investment share. Construction and real estate, whose share was not so encouraging in FY 2019, saw a further contraction to 49 percent during the studied year.
In FY18-19, Maharashtra had attracted 21 percent of the total investments made, while Odisha had attracted only four percent of the total investments. However, this fiscal year, the State has improved tremendously, garnering more than 400 percent growth, thanks to a conducive industrial environment created by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s vision and clean governance.
On the other hand, however, the new investments in the country have shrinked by 83 percent as against a growth of 15 percent last year showing virgin investments plunged to a 15-year low in H1 of FY19-20 indicating economic slowdown in the country. The overall investment sentiment is also signalling a downward spiral due to slow growth in consumption leading to lower demand. On this sluggish economic condition Odisha has emerged as an exception, probably as an effect of the 5T Initiatives being implemented by his trusted officers.
While new investments spurred in Odisha, States like Telangana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra saw a plunge in investment during H1 of FY19-20.
The country’s construction and real estate sector suffered badly, as its investment share contracting 49 per cent in H1 FY19-20, a report of CARE Ratings noted.The manufacturing sector drove new investments, whereas services and electricity sectors witnessed a decline.
“There has been a sustained decline in the new projects undertaken in the past five years. Investments in new projects amounted to Rs 11.9 trillion, the lowest in the past five years. New investments contracted for the fourth consecutive year by 10 per cent in FY19, lower than the 22 per cent contraction in the previous year. During the first half of financial year 2020, the aggregate new investments stood lowest in the corresponding period over the past 15 years at Rs 1.9 trillion,” the report by CARE Ratings further said.
Good Politics Lead to Good Economics
Good politics can lead to good economics too. Odisha has proved it and set an example for others to follow. The Naveen Patnaik Government has taken a number of innovative steps and streamlined the business ecosystem to attract investments into the State. The Government of Odisha has developed the online Single Window portal GO SWIFT – Government of Odisha – Single Window for Investor Facilitation and Tracking to transform the B2G interface through the entire investment lifecycle. GO SWIFT is a key business reform undertaken by the state government with the objective to provide all requisite information/clearances to investors in a hassle-free and paperless mode. The portal is a “One-stop Solution” for information on clearances required, land banks available, application, payment, tracking and approval of G2B services, risk-based synchronized inspection by regulatory agencies, incentive administration, post land allotment services, grievance redressal, and dovetailing CSR activities with the developmental goals of the State.
Odisha has been able to leverage its resources and locational advantages to pump in funds on the ground, with transparency, accountability and increased efficiency.
The soft spoken Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has been instrumental in bringing about State’s amazing turnaround. Odisha is now a regional hub in many sectors ranging from education to sports and healthcare. Besides, it has also emerged as a major player in information technology industry as well. It’s talent pool is one of the best in the country which attracts the investors.
Odisha Government’s early focus on leveraging iron ore and bauxite resources to boost downstream value-addition has triggered the development of other sectors such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and food-processing. In tandem, Naveen Patnaik has also launched a slew of path-breaking social policies like “Mo Sarkar” for bringing in more transparency in governance and the system in place. Naveen Patnaik, who makes it a point to be friendly across the political divide, has appeared to hold lessons for other chief ministers to follow.
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