Make In Odisha: Vedanta Chairman Meets Naveen; Over Rs 25,000 Crore Investments Lined Up

Mumbai: In one of the most keenly watched meetings at the ‘Make in Odisha Conclave’ in Mumbai, Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal on Wednesday met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“We (Vedanta) stand testimony to what is possible if you Make in Odisha. It is amongst the most favourable investment destinations in India, ably led by the stable governance, leadership and vision of Naveen Patnaik, which is reflected in the state’s Ease of Doing Business rankings,” Agarwal said.

“Single window clearance system, 5T framework, focus on infrastructure projects, etc. have increased the investor community’s confidence in Odisha. And it is on account of this, that we have new investments of more than Rs 25,000 crore in line for expansion of our aluminium, ferrochrome and mining business, which will create more job opportunities and revenue for the state,” he added.

“We are also setting up one of the largest aluminium parks near our Jharsuguda smelter to boost the domestic aluminium downstream ecosystem. It heartens us to see our investment in Jharsuguda turn the district into a vibrant industrial hub with an airport. Beyond business, we are in the process of establishing 650 ‘Nand Ghars’, which will benefit more than five lakh women and children with interventions in education, nutrition, healthcare and skill development. This will be in addition to our 360-degree community development programmes in hundreds of villages,” he said.

The Vedanta Group has made its single largest investment in Odisha till date, in aluminium manufacturing value chain, ferrochrome, mining and value-addition, to the tune of Rs 80,000 crore. With this quantum of investment, Vedanta is contributing nearly 4 per cent to Odisha’s state GDP and also created over 5 lakh livelihood opportunities and fostered hundreds of MSMEs in the state.

The meeting with Agarwal assumes significance after Vedanta on Tuesday announced that Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture has selected Gujarat for setting up its display fabrication and semiconductor facility at an investment of Rs 1.54 lakh crore.

Naveen met a slew of business honchos on Wednesday and invited them to invest in Odisha.