Virendra Singh Rawat / Lucknow
The mineral and power rich state of Odisha has invited Uttar Pradesh industry captains to explore the possibility of investing in the Southern state.
To woo the UP investors, Odisha government in consort with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised a roadshow in Lucknow to showcase the pro-industry climate in the state.
Hemant Sharma, Odisha government principal secretary, Industries Department, Skill, Development & Technical Education and Chairman – IDCO and Chairman-IPICOL, highlighted the state was vested with rich minerals and iron/steel based industries.
He said Odisha had nurtured a strong industrial climate supported with business friendly policies, abundant energy, single window system to facilitate faster industrial development.
In his presentation, Sharma narrated the voluminous natural resources and skilled human capital, which has catalysed the massive industrialisation initiative of Odisha. “Apart from the basic metals Odisha is a pioneer in marine processing, IT & ITEs, food processing, apparel and garmenting.”
He showcased Odisha’s potential regarding multipronged investment opportunities across sector including metals, mining, food processing, apparel, garmenting etc.
The port based development model promoted by Odisha is a unique proposition in India even as 22+ years of political stability has instilled transparency and confidence in the way business is done, Sharma added.
He informed Odisha has undertaken varied initiatives in terms of implementation of ease of doing business, creating an enabling policy framework and development of modern industrial infrastructure to facilitate businesses to set up shop.
Sharma talked about the bouquet of enabling policies in new age sectors viz. metal down streaming, aerospace, defence, electronics manufacturing and niche sectors such as semiconductor fab manufacturing, solar PV cell manufacturing etc.
Oil companies revving up on ethanol expressway
Meanwhile, Sachin Agarwal, Chairman-SIDM-Uttar Pradesh and CMD, PTC Industries, broached upon the UP success story regarding the potential of value added manufacturing in augmenting the state GDP by creating jobs and generating revenue.