Nine partner countries on radar for 2nd 'Make in Odisha' conclave

Aiming to make the second edition of its showpiece investment summit- ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave a gaudy event, the state government has identified nine nations to be roped in as partner countries.

The prospective partner or focus countries figuring on Odisha’s radar include USA, Thailand, Japan, Germany, China, UAE, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea.

“The idea is to make it a globally recognised event this time. Also, we would be showcasing Odisha’s strengths and advantages as an investment destination. The partnership with an identified nation could be sector specific- say for Australia, it can be metals and automobiles for Germany- this is being modelled on the popular Vibrant Gujarat conclave”, said a state government official.

To firm tie-ups with potential partner countries, the state industries department, especially the investment promotion agency under its control- Investment Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol)- has prepared the outreach itinerary.

A pre-event ambassadors’ meet is planned on February 15, 2018, in New Delhi for EU (European Union) countries. Under the aegis of the Asean business meet on January 22 next year in New Delhi, the state investment promotion team would hold roadshow.

The next calendar year would also be marked by the Odisha team staging international roadshows in West Asia and Germany (April), USA (May), Malaysia and Taiwan (June), Thailand and China (July) and Japan & South Korea (August). In parallel, domestic roadshows are planned between March and September 2018 in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Pune, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata.

The second edition of ‘Make in Odisha’ event is scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar from November 11 to 15. On November 11, the expo is proposed to be inaugurated and it would run till the concluding day. The conclave is to be formally launched on November 12. Key events lined up for the conclave are partner country seminars, ambassador meets, skill fest, start-up event & 24-hour hackathon, sector-specific CEO Round Tables, tourism event, event focussed on women entrepreneurship, launch of new projects and policies by various departments, groundbreaking of industrial units, customer/vendor meets of business houses, golf tournament and coastal marathon.

The conclave would be made up by nine sectoral sessions.  Six of them would be devoted to the thrust sectors listed by Odisha in its Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) 0f 2015- electronics manufacturing, textiles, handloom & apparel, downstream & ancillary industries in metals sectors, agro & seafood processing, tourism and chemicals, petrochemicals & plastics. The other three sessions are projected to focus on healthcare investments, positioning Odisha as the logistics hub of the east and Bhubaneswar Smart City.

An oversight committee chaired by the state chief secretary is constituted for overall supervision of preparatory activities of the ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave. This committee is also entrusted to oversee the work of five other sub-committees on tourism & culture, hospitality & catering, city beautification, media and reception, transport & protocol.

A tentative list of corporate invitees for the conclave has the who’s who of India Inc and other distinguished persona- Azim Premji, Nandan Nilekani, Raghuram Rajan, A M Naik (L&T), Y C Deveshwar (ITC), N Chandrasekharan (Tata Sons), Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries), Kumar Mangalam Birla (Aditya Birla Group), Venu Srinivasan (TVS Motor Company), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (Google) and foreign corporate honchos like Bill Gates and Jack Ma (Alibaba).

Like the previous edition, the next Make in Odisha conclave would see the state government partnering the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). As many as 5,000 companies- domestic and overseas are to be invited to the mega event.

At the last year's conference, the state government drew investment intents worth Rs 2.03 lakh crore across 10 sectors. Though the focus was on attracting investment in emerging areas and focus sectors identified by the state government, metals sector emerged as the highest grosser with about Rs 97,000 crore investments.