Odisha Set to Become a World-class Industrial Destination: CM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is set to achieve its cherished goal of becoming a world-class industrial destination, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik while addressing the 93rd Annual General Meeting of FICCI on Saturday.

Naveen said that Odisha is fast emerging as the ‘Manufacturing Hub of Eastern India’ and his Government has always endeavored for a holistic business environment for the investors in the State.

“The State is implementing path breaking technological reforms to reduce physical interface for availing Government services. My Government’s transformational initiatives under ‘5T’ charter and ‘MO SARKAR’ have played a major role in creating a conducive business environment in the State by inculcating professionalism and behavioral change in the State Government agencies”, the Odisha CM said.

“As part of my government’s initiative to reduce regulatory burden on industries, new end-to-end online systems for over 30 Government to Business services have been developed by various departments of the State. To further ensure that the service delivery is prompt, the timelines for the services have also been included under the State’s Right to Public Services Act. The State has also developed a dedicated land bank with over one lakh acres of land available on a GIS-based platform for easy site selection by industries”.

Odisha has been recognized as an investment destination of choice over the years. Odisha was ranked number 1 in terms of attracting investments during April-September 2019, and is poised to continue this leadership position, Naveen said.
To attract new investments in the identified focus sectors, the Odisha Government has held discussions with institutions and industries from Japan, Republic of Korea, USA and Vietnam to showcase the business ecosystem and investment opportunities in the State, he said while asserting that the investor sentiment towards Odisha is extremely encouraging.

Even during these difficult COVID pandemic times, Odisha has been able to attract new investments of over Rs.1 lakh crore across multiple sectors.

The State Government is not just focusing on attracting new investments, but also on grounding the projects. In the recent past, new industrial projects were launched in diverse sectors ranging from Healthcare, renewable energy, Downstream to Steel & Aluminium, IT and Food processing, the Chief Minister said.

Odisha is now targeting specific focus sectors including the ancillary and downstream to metal sector. The Government is working towards further value addition in major industrial regions such as Angul and Jharsuguda for aluminium downstream and Kalingnagar for steel downstream. Further, Paradeep is being developed as the hub for chemicals and petrochemical industries, he added.

With these developments, Odisha is set to achieve its cherished goal of becoming a world-class industrial destination, Naveen further stated.

Notably, FICCI will again be the National Industry Partner for the third edition of Make in Odisha Conclave. FICCI had played a vital role in the success of the Conclave in 2018.