After large industries, Odisha is now attracting Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across sectors from all over the country to set up units in the eastern State.
The State is conducting roadshows in India’s key cities for its upcoming investment summit the “The Make in Odisha Conclave’22” which will be held in Bhubaneswar from November 30 to December 4.
“Our Chief Minister’s vision is to value add to the State’s economy through twin goals of lifting the agriculture economy as well as the industrial economy. We call this inclusive growth or inclusive industrialisation,” said PratapKeshari Deb, Minister for Industries, MSME & Energy, Government of Odisha in an interview.
“From mine-based and heavy industry-based economy, we are moving to MSMEs sector which provides large scale employment and where maximum money will rotate in the economy. So, we are looking at any company which can invest between ₹1 crore to ₹500 crore,” he added.
“Right now, I am open to all sectors. But our focus areas are chemicals and petrochemicals, textiles, apparels, food processing, crafts and handicrafts, green energy and pharmaceuticals,” he said.
To accommodate more companies, Odisha has taken up a huge corridor in western Odisha besides the Biju Expressway from Rourkela to Kotpad in Koraput district. It has declared that entire area as an industrial corridor.
It is also developing south Odisha, the tribal heartland, for food processing. The area is known for millet, corn crops.
This will be the third investment summit to be organised by the state. During the first summit in 2016 the government had received investment intent of ₹1.51 lakh crore of which ₹48,000 crore worth of projects were grounded, the Minister said.
“In 2018, we got intent of ₹4.10 lakh crore of which ₹1.78 lakh crore worth of projects were grounded. in 2020 we could not organise it due to Covid and now we are back in 2022. But during Covid time, when industries were shutting down, we had received 225 proposals of which 170 have been grounded,” he added.
“What makes Odisha most attractive is that when other places [States] are dying down or plateauing, we are just rising. The next destination and the next industrial hub of the country is going to be in the east and in Odisha,” he asserted.
The state is offering the best incentive available anywhere in the country to woo investment.
