Bengaluru: Welcoming a galaxy of potential investors at Bengaluru Investors’ Meet today, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today gave a clarion call to the captains of industry saying, “Come, Invest in Odisha and be our partner in ushering in a new Industrial Age in Odisha.”
Emphasising the commitment of the State, he said that Odisha is committed to provide an ecosystem for job linked industrial growth. If any state is providing X incentive for promotion of business opportunities, we will provide X plus. Our Government walks the talk, he added.
Over 400 delegates, representing various industries from across India participated in the meet. The Chief Minister sought the participation of industry captains in the Make in Odisha Conclave to be held in Bhubaneswar from 30th November to 4th December 2022.
Expressing pleasure over the meet, he thanked the industrialists by saying, “Thanks to your innovative and inspiring work, India has emerged as a major force in the world of technology and manufacturing.” He further added, “I have come to invite you all to Odisha and be part of our transformative journey. Odisha is now progressing fast in every sector. On the strength of our abundant natural resources, skilled human resources and stable governance, Odisha is emerging as a leading destination for industries and investment.”
He said that most of the top Indian IT companies have established their centres in Bhubaneswar. The government is also providing continuous support to the Startup ecosystem in the city, he added. Highlighting state’s record on grounding of investment proposals, he said that Odisha is ranked among the top States of India in terms of live manufacturing investments and has been accorded the “Achiever” status in the recently released “Ease of Doing Business” ratings. He said that the Make in Odisha Conclave, 2022 is a platform for our state to showcase our growth story and present what we have to offer to investors across the globe. It is a platform for industry captains and thought-leaders to talk about the future outlook of various industrial sectors, he added.
Addressing the august gathering Pratap Keshari Deb, Minister – Industries, MSME & Energy, Government of Odisha, stressed that “Under the Hon’ble CM, the state government has taken a Whole-of-Government approach towards service delivery to citizens and businesses. We are today becoming a destination of choice for investors across the country. I would like to welcome all the Industry Captains, associations and their members present here to come and explore Odisha as your next investment destination.”
Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Skill Development & Technical Education and Chairman-IDCO and Chairman-IPICOL, Government of Odisha, made a presentation about the industrial ecosystem in Odisha and about the Make in Odisha Conclave’-22 to the audience. K Ulas Kamath, Chairman, FICCI Karnataka State Council welcomed the august gathering and initiated the Odisha Investors’ Meet. Shedding light on how Odisha has been one of the major breakout states in the country in terms of development, he said that the state is registering impressive GSDP growth rates year-after-year and industrializing at break-neck speed. Odisha has had an impressive ride soaring even higher with a strong foundation that has been laid under the leadership of the Chief Minister, he added.
Manoj Kumar Mishra, Secretary, Electronics & IT Department, Government of Odisha, spoke about the emerging IT/ITeS ecosystem in the state. He also highlighted the growth-focused and future-oriented IT Policy, Data Centre Policy, BPO Policy, and Electronics Policy brought in by the Government of Odisha to further strengthen the ESDM and IT/ITeS sector and attract new investments into the state.
Dr Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Start-Up Odisha focused on the ever-growing Start-up ecosystem in Odisha. He informed the audience that Odisha has been recognized as a ‘Top Performer’ and a “Leader” by DPIIT, Government of India in States’ Start-up Ranking 2018 & 2019 respectively.”
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met several senior industrialists across sectors to discuss their plans for Odisha and personally invite them to the Make in Odisha Conclave’22.
During the discussions, Naveen highlighted the major pro-business reforms undertaken by his Government and asked the industrialists to explore Odisha as a potential destination for their businesses.
Some of the major investors who met the Chief Minister of Odisha for a one-on-one G2B meetings were Ranjeet Kumar, Centre Head, Incture India Pvt Ltd; Amit Sharma, Managing Partner, IBM India Pvt Ltd; Dr. Shravan Subramanyam, MD & CEO, Wipro-GE Healthcare Pvt Ltd, Girish Menon, President, Concentrix Daksh Services Ltd; T K Sridhar, CFO, ABB Ltd; Saranyan P, CFO, TTK Prestige Ltd; Gautam Sharma, MD & CEO, Indo Nissin Foods Pvt Ltd; Siva Ganapati, Managing Director, Gokaldas Exports Ltd; Ajay Vij, Managing Director, Accenture Ltd; Rajneesh Kumar, Senior V P & Chief Corporate Affairs , Flipkart, V S Ganesh, CEO, Page Industries Ltd; Venkataraman N, CFO, Happiest Minds; Jitendra Chaddah, Country Head, Global Foundry Ltd; Gaurav Taneja, Consulting Leader, Ernst & Young; Nibhruti Rai, Country Head, Intel Tech India Pvt Ltd; B N Monappa, Founder & MD, Cotton World; Arun Chittapalli, MD, Wonderla; Binay Kumar Gupta, MD, Dollar Industries Ltd; Naseer Humayun, CMD, Indian Designs Pvt Ltd and Vishal Sehgal, CMD, Indian Stiches Pvt Ltd.
Among others, K Ullas Kamath, Chairman, FICCI Karnataka State Council and Senior Officials from the industries Department & IPICOL were present in the meeting.