OdishaLive Business Bureau
On the second day of the Odisha Conclave 2018 various business tycoons attended the ceremony as per the schedule as well as promised various investments in near future in the state.
The inaugural ceremony of the event was attended by tycoons as Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Kumar Mangalam Birla Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources Plc, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, William P. Davis, Exxon Mobile and also accompanied by T.K Chand, Chairman, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Satish Pai, CEO, Hindalco, Ritesh Agarwal, CEO,OYO Rooms, Anil Kumar, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Sajjan Jindal, MD, JSW Group, Rajnish Kumar,Chairman, State Bank of India (SBI), Sanjiv Puri, MD, ITC, Naveen Jindal, Chairman, Jindal Steel.
Sanjeev Chopra, Principal Secretary, Industries Department addressed the gathering by presenting the report card of Odisha Conclave 2016. He said the state has improved the efficiency of the rate of approvals by 97 per cent.
He also said the single window mechanism has witnessed 470 investment proposals costing at Rs 69,075 crore proposing an employment generation of about 1.05 lakh people.
“The single window mechanism has approved about 1,341 G2B services during November 2017,” Chopra added.
He also urged the players across the globe to come and witness the best in class industrial infrastructure such as NIMZ Kalinganagar, Angul Aluminium Park, Dhamra Coastal Economic Zone, Paradip Plastic Park, PCPIR Paradip, Sea Food Park and info valley.
“I am delighted to welcome our friends, the captains of business and industry from across India and the globe, who have come all the way to Odisha and join us in Make in Odisha 2018. We are also glad to have Japan, as our Country Partner, for this second edition of Make in Odisha. Odisha greets you all with an open heart and invites you to be partners in its growth story.
“At this edition, I also look back to the first Make in Odisha Conclave in 2016, which was a huge success with 124 investment intents, worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore, and employment opportunities for above one lakh people. You would be glad to know that about two-thirds of these projects are in various stages of implementation. With a view to giving further impetus to certain key manufacturing sectors,” CM Naveen Patnaik address the gathering.
He also said they have laid down a Vision 2025 with a target of attracting investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crore and creation of 30 Lakh job opportunities in 6 identified focus sectors by 2025.
“We have recently launched a progressive Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Policy to capitalize on the competitive advantages of Odisha’s existing eco-system to attract investment in this high potential sector. we have been planning a chain of ports along the East Coast Economic Corridor. Apart from Paradip and Dhamra, we are developing deep-water ports at Subarnarekha and Gopalpur, a riverine port on Mahanadi River and a chain of 12 other non-major ports,” he added while addressing the gathering on the achievements of the state to ease the process of investment in the state.
In order to address the increasing demand for the skill workers in the state Patnaik said the state has signed a tripartite agreement with the Singapore to develop an 18-storeyed World Skill Centre in Bhubaneswar.
“Odisha Skill Development Authority shall manage the World Skill Centre with technical support from ITEES, Singapore. This Centre will function as the centralized hub with all 71 Government ITIs as spokes for implementation of the Odisha Skill Development Project – an ambitious INR 1400 Crore project. More than one 1.5 lakh trainers and trainees will be trained in the next 4 years under this Project,” another officials with the development said.
The state witnessed 310 start ups registered in last 18 months and 40 of whom have already been provided with assistance.
“We aim to be among top three start-up hubs in the country by supporting at least 1000 start-ups by 2020. With 10 agro-climatic zones and a progressive Food Processing Policy, we offer immense opportunities in the food-processing sector. We have also put in place a number of policy mechanisms to promote entrepreneurship in the Agriculture Sector,” Patnaik added.
Ambani’s Proposal
“I feel honoured today to be at MIO 2018. Today Odisha has been growing at 8 per cent per annum, more than the national average. Reliance Jio is a committed partner in Make in Odisha vision and has already invested Rs 6,000 crores in the state and is hopeful to invest Rs 3,000 crores soon in the state. Most of the investments will be in the creating digital infrastructure in the state,” Reliance Industries Chairman Mukhesh Ambani said addressing the gathering.
He also said the company has created employment opportunities for 30,000 people in the last 2 years in the state.
“ Jio has helped connect 43,000 villages in Odisha to the domestic and global network. For most of these villages, Jio has provided not only their first phone, but first TV, first Camera, and first internet and brought AI in their lives, at an affordable pricing of Rs 100 per month,” he said adding “..We are working with the Government of Odisha for providing a digital platform for lakhs of women in the state to enhance their livelihood under project ‘Shakti’. We are committed to Make In Odisha (MIO) through digital means and will contribute to make the state a globalized region in the country,” the top official said.
Other Investments
Sanjiv Puri, MD, ITC said they are in verge of completion of two of their projects out of which their FMCG manufacturing unit will commence much ahead from their schedule time and will commence next year, whereas their world class hotel will be commencing by the end of December 2019.
Adding more to the investments Anil Agarwal the chairman of Vedanta resources assured the expansion of its 1mtpa to 6mtpa at the cost of Rs 6,483 crore. He also urged for a world class university in Puri and also for a convention centre in the state.
