Paradip: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated IFFCO’s sulphuric acid plant at Paradip in Odisha’s Jagatsingpur district to boost fertiliser production capacity.
The new plant will help enhance the fertiliser production capacity of cooperative major IFFCO and achieve the goal of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, an official said.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state Industries Minister Sampad Chandra Swain were present in the programme.
The plant has been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 750 crore. The newly inaugurated plant will have the capacity to produce 2,000 tonnes of sulphuric acid per day. The facility is expected to significantly boost industrial output while also improving environmental efficiency, he said.
Speaking at the event, Shah said the government will work toward bringing a strong dairy cooperative network to every village in Odisha, similar to the successful model seen in Gujarat. Shah said the initiative aims to strengthen rural livelihoods and economically empower women, particularly from tribal and Other Backwards Class (OBC) communities.
After inaugurating the third stream of the Sulphuric Acid Plant (SAP-III) at the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) unit in Paradip, he said the expansion would also support India’s push toward self-reliance in fertiliser production.
“Today in Gujarat, through 3.6 million rural women, Amul became a movement, and today Amul does business worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore. Its profit, down to every penny, goes to the women cattle herders of Gujarat. Similarly, we will explore the full potential of Odisha to enrich the tribal and OBC mothers and sisters here,” Shah said.
Both the centre and state government would work together to introduce dairy cooperatives across villages in the state. “In the coming days, both the BJP governments will take up the programme of bringing dairy to every village in Odisha, just as it is in Gujarat,” he said.
Shah thanked the people of Odisha for bringing BJP to power and ensuring the formation of a “double-engine government”, and said it would accelerate the state’s development.
Despite being one of the country’s most prosperous states in terms of natural resources, Odisha’s potential remained untapped for many years, Shah said, adding that the new government has prepared a comprehensive development plan covering coastal regions, tribal areas, and local industries.
“We will also increase fish farming by giving it cooperative strength. This is likely to greatly benefit seafood exports. In the coming days, the Ministry of Cooperation of the Government of India and the Odisha government together will make an effort to enrich rural life in Odisha,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of the newly inaugurated plant, Shah said the expansion at the IFFCO Paradip facility would help reduce India’s dependence on imported raw materials used in fertilisers.”
Prime Minister Modi’s vision of self-reliance doesn’t just mean making fertilisers; it means everything needed to make fertilisers should be produced within India. This will work towards significantly reducing India’s dependence on imports,” the Home Minister said.
