Odisha To Be Steel Capital Of India!

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: If everything goes according to plan, Odisha may soon become the ‘Steel Capital’ of the country.

A roadmap on this regard is expected to be discussed when Union Steel and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan meets Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Odisha Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday (June 14).

Both leaders are also likely to hold talks on projects related to the petroleum sector.

The Chief Minister is on a seven-day official trip to New Delhi. On Tuesday, he had called on President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Naveen met Modi at the latter’s official residence and sought Rs 5,000 crore central assistance to Odisha for post-Fani restoration works. He also apprised the Prime Minister about the “unique geo-climatic conditions of Odisha that makes it vulnerable to multiple and frequent natural disasters”.

He even suggested that pending consideration of this request, the states hit by major calamities should be declared “Special Focus States” and granted benefits under the Special Category Status for a specific period.