Investors’ Meet In New Delhi: CM Extends Invite For ‘Make In Odisha’ Conclave

New Delhi: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik invited participants of the Odisha Investors’ Meet held here on Wednesday, for the second edition of ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave slated for November 11 to 15 in Bhubaneswar.

Addressing the investors, he said, “I invite you all to participate in the ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave, our flagship biennial global investors’ meet. I am sure that this event will enable you to know more about the investment opportunities in Odisha, which is fast emerging as manufacturing hub of eastern India.”

Naveen went on to elaborate the opportunities and efforts put in by his government to pull investors to Odisha while highlighting its significant potential.

“Our natural strength lies in being a mineral-rich state. During the last 18 years of my government, we have focused on enhancing the production level of key minerals and value-added products. Today, Odisha is the Aluminium Capital of South Asia accounting for over 54 per cent of the country’s production,” he said.

He further said by contributing to about a quarter of India’s steel production, Odisha is counted as the steel hub of the country. “Currently, my government is engaged in laying a road map ‘Vision2030: Development of Downstream & Ancillary in Metal Sector’ with the aim to further vitalise downstream ecosystem of the State,” he said.

The Chief Minister said enhancing and strengthening infrastructure has been a priority of his government for over last 18 years. “Our port capacity has increased ten times to 190 million metric tonnes at present. Similarly, power generation has increased more than three folds and road network has increased over 50 per cent,” he informed.

Naveen also launched the ‘Invest Odisha’ website, www.investodisha.gov.in,  a user-friendly portal where investors can find information related to policy, cost-of-doing-business, and infrastructure-all at one place. “It will enable the industry make informed investment decisions by comparing the competitiveness of Odisha with other States and countries. It also engages with the investors through a unique chatbot ‘Odishi’, which provides customised information to the users,” he said.

Addressing the gathering, Odisha Industries Minister Ananta Das said, “Odisha is growing at a rate higher than the national average, with industrial development being a core component contributing to this fast growth of the state.”

Highlighting the key policies and institutional reforms undertaken in Odisha to facilitate industrial development, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said, “The state has emerged as a preferred investment destination for industries both from within India and across the globe. A leading industry association has ranked Odisha as the number one state in terms of investment implementation rate.”

“I am happy to convey that the state has been accomplishing path-breaking technological reforms to reduce the physical business to government interface. We have introduced the online Single Window portal, GO SWIFT i.e. Government of Odisha-Single Window for Investor Facilitation and Tracking along with several other technological interventions,” he added.

Industrialists Naveen Jindal, OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal, MD of Shahi Exports Harish Ahuja and other top business leaders were present at the event.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister attended the ‘Make in Odisha’ road show orgainsed by the State Industries Department in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to showcase Odisha as a preferential investment destination.

The Chief Minister had earlier attended an investors’ meet in Mumbai on August 8 and highlighted the advantages of doing business in Odisha.