Mumbai: The state of Odisha has emerged as a star investment destination for investors participating in Make in India Week being held at Mumbai. The state has already attracted an investment to the tune of Rs. 70,959 crores in just over three-four days.
Odisha’s stellar show at Make in India Week was rolled out at an investors meet here inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Debi Prasad Mishra, Minister for industries Government of Odisha said, “We have attracted significant investment at the ensuing Make in India Week. The portfolio includes an aluminium refinery by L&T, expansion by NALCO, investments in food processing and hospitality sector by ITC, expansion of power plant by GMR, expansion and setting up a container terminal at Dhamra Port, downstream industrial park by Vedanta, electronic manufacturing unit by SANMINA, infrastructure development in Tata Steel SEZ at Gopalpur etc.”
“In addition, Ambassadors of Japan, Korea and an official delegation from China have met up with us and shown keen interest in partnering with the state. The Chinese delegation led by China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) has expressed interest in setting up an exclusive industrial park for Chinese companies. The delegation is visiting Odisha on 16th February to further discuss with the state government,” Mishra added.
The state government, has also launched two key reforms in easing the doing business in the state in the presence of captains of the industry.
The eBiz portal covering 14 G2B services with a common application form and an integrated payment gateway was launched.
The online portal eliminates all physical interface for investment related services to enable the investor set up an industry/business from anywhere in the world.
This is a first of its kind in India and is integrated with the eBiz platform of Government of India.
The second reform initiative for a hassle free environment, which is also a first of its kind in the country that was unveiled in the meet, is a unique online portal, Common Inspection Framework, which will synchronise the inspections and random selection of industries based on their risk profile.
The framework mandates random allocation of inspectors with the inspection report uploaded in 48 hours after the visit. This will substantially ease the business operations and bring about transparency and objectivity to the inspection process.
Odisha has embarked on broad basing the industrial base and promote investment in value added sectors. To catapult the state to a high growth trajectory, the government has strategised a New “Odisha Industrial Development Plan-2025 (Vision -2025)”, was unveiled in this event.
The Vision-2025 lays a 10-year roadmap for industrial development with transformational policies and strategies and presents a paradigm shift with the government acting as an “enabler” to aid to industrial growth.
The Vision-2025 aims to achieve sustainable manufacturing and employment generation and intends to generate 10 lakh jobs and attract an investment of Rs 2.25 lakh crores and make Odisha the “manufacturing hub of the east”.
In addition, the state government has carried out a slew of industry friendly reforms and activities to enhance the investment climate in the state and make the state ‘the preferred destination” to the investing community.
The government has set up an “Investor Facilitation Cell” as single point facility for investors guidance and handholding, developed Go-iPlus: Government of Odisha Industrial Portal for Land Use and Services—a GIS enabled land information system by leveraging IT to the fullest.
The new industrial policy-2015 has excellent provisions and incentives to attract investments in the state. The state government has formulated sector specific policies and is developing investment regions and sector specific clusters with fully developed infrastructure which the investors can utilize and set up their manufacturing units.
The state has created a large land bank of Rs 1 lakh acres to cater to the industrial needs. The government is finalizing a new “start- up” policy to boost the “start-up” ecosystem in the state.
The “Bhubaneswar Start-up Hub” a 0.5 million sq. ft ready to move facility in Bhubaneswar was dedicated as part of the investors meet. The start-up ecosystem shall be mentored and guided by “TiE Silicon Valley”, with which the government has a strategic partnership, the first and only one of its kind in the country.
The business reforms initiated by the State have been highly lauded by the investor community. In the inaugural session, Bibek Debroy, Member, Niti Aayog stated that they provide a template to other states for emulation.
