Odisha clears fresh investment proposals worth Rs 1.31 lakh crore

The state received these proposals during its roadshows conducted in Mumbai & Bengaluru

The Odisha government has cleared fresh investment proposals of the order of Rs 1.31 lakh crore. The state received these proposals during its roadshows conducted in Mumbai and Bengaluru and the 'Make in Odisha' conclave.

From the three events, Odisha received 124 investment intents and of this, 71 cases have transformed into firm commitments. The Single Window has approved projects worth Rs 131,149 crore”, said Sanjeev Chopra, principal secretary (industries), Odisha.

The 124 investment intents are valued at Rs 3.64 lakh crore.

In the past three years, the Single Window Clearance Authority in the State has approved 102 projects with investments worth Rs 1,67,284.63 crore with an employment potential of 1,12,532 jobs. The state government has announced to approve ‘green’ category projects within 15 days and ‘other’ category in 30 days.

Addressing the media, industries minister Niranjan Pujari said, “We have created a long-term roadmap for industrial development which is captured in our Vision 2025 document. To broad base and diversify the industrial development in the state, we have identified six focus sectors that include agro and food processing; ancillary and downstream in the metal sector; chemicals, plastics and petrochemicals; electronics manufacturing and IT; textiles apparel and tourism.”

Pujari said, during 2016-17, Odisha has registered GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) growth rate of 7.94% surpassing the national growth rate of 7.1% and the state is on track to reach a double-digit growth of 12% by 2019-20.

In the run-up to the 'Make in Odisha' conclave, the state government unveiled many sectoral policies to lure investors.

Speaking on the policies, Chopra said, “These policies have been successful in creating an attractive policy ecosystem in the state for diversified sectors and it has received extremely positive feedback from the investor community across the country. Over the last three years, the state government has embarked upon implementation of a Business Reforms Programme to make it easier for companies to set up and operate in the state.”

The state government has signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 92 industries. Of this, 46 have gone into operations, generating employment for 175,444 persons. The MoU bound projects have invested Rs 2.54 lakh crore.