Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister, and 54 corporate leaders today promoted Odisha as a land of opportunity, citing political stability, ease of doing business, and transparency.
Today, Naveen Patnaik’s government made an impressive business pitch to Indian and global investors, encouraging them to Make in Odisha and ‘Join the Juggernaut.’ A word derived from the mighty Lord Jagannath, representing his overwhelming power and Odisha’s growth trajectory. Patnaik, accompanied by 54 corporate Sarathi’s (charioteers), declared today that his state will become a trillion-dollar economy in the near future.
“Odisha is destined to become a trillion-dollar economy in near future. We will emerge as the gateway to East and South East Asia. I invite you to come and invest in a New Odisha,” the chief minister said. With an assurance that his government will run the extra mile to make the investors comfortable in Odisha, he added, “our investor-friendly initiatives and transformatory governance has put us on a journey of progress and prosperity. I invite each one of you to come join us on this journey.”
Patnaik government was successful in exchanging 21 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and 46 Investment Intent Forms (IIF) worth 585,742.26cr, betting on 22 years of political stability, promises of cheapest land, labor, and logistics, robust growth figures, and progressive policies to provide a conducive business environment.
Day 1 of the third edition of Odisha’s flagship investor summit, Make in Odisha Conclave 2022, saw the presence of global leaders, 54 industry captains, 12,000 individual registrations, 212 exhibitors, participants from 11 countries, and several industry leaders at the two plenary sessions and eight sectorial sessions. The state issued the Industrial Policy Resolution 2022, which aims to make Odisha the preferred location for industrial enterprises from across the country and around the world.
For the first time in any state investors’ conclave, five financial institutions, including the BSE, NSE, SBI, SIDBI, and the World Bank Group’s IFC, attended an investment summit. Two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were also signed with the BSE and NSE, as well as the government of Odisha, to assist the state’s MSMEs in becoming listed on the BSE’s MSME exchange.
ArcelorMittal, which is owned by Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, will build a 24 million-tonne plant in Odisha in a joint venture with Nippon Steel. Mittal praised Odisha’s speedy governance and congratulated the state on creating an environment conducive to doing business in record time.
Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Ports, promised an investment of more than Rs. 60,000 crore over the next ten years. The group intends to build 35 berths and a 5 MT LNG terminal at Dhamra Port, as well as an alumina refinery and an iron ore project that will employ thousands of people in the state.
Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW Group, announced that the company will invest another Rs1 lakh crore in Odisha to build a steel plant in Paradip and a silicon metal plant to produce solar panels. He stated that the Group has already spent 60,000 crore in the state. ‘With current mineral revenue ranging between Rs. 10,000 and Rs.40,000 crore, Odisha is on its way to becoming a trillion-dollar economy,’ Jindal said.
Anil Agarwal, Chairman and Founder of Vedanta Resources, and Naveen Patnaik virtually laid the groundwork for Vedanta Aluminium Park, which is billed as India’s largest metal park. He praised the government’s tenacious approach to business growth and mentioned the Group’s investment of over 1 lakh crore, which has resulted in direct and indirect employment for 5 lakh people in the state.
The Make in Odisha Conclave aims to provide a platform for industry participation and to discuss growth and development opportunities for key sectors such as agriculture and food processing, tourism, information technology and telecommunications, mining and metallurgy, chemicals and petrochemicals, and green energy.
Prasanta Patnaik