Startup Mela: Odisha To Generate Rs 40,000 Cr Revenue From MIO Intents, Says Minister

Bhubaneshwar: With intent of investment drawn by the recent Make in Odisha (MIO) Conclave, the state is likely to generate additional revenue of around Rs 40,000 crore and create more than 2.5 lakh jobs, said Minister of MSME Pratap Keshari Deb.

Delivering his keynote address after inaugurating Startup Mela 2023, the maiden effort of Startup Odisha, in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, Deb said, “In the recently concluded MIO Conclave, we attracted an intent worth Rs 10,48,000 crore. The national average of conversion of the intent into grounding is 20%. However, our average of conversion in the two previously held MIOs has been 32%, which is 12% more than the national average. Even if we can ground 30% of the last MIOs intent, we would be effectively creating more than 2.5 lakh jobs, with an additional revenue generation of around Rs 40,000 crore for the government and opportunities for around one lakh people in Odisha.”

Expressing optimism that the next industrial hub of the country will be Odisha in another five to seven years, he said, “The mindset of the community should change. We want entrepreneurs in Odisha. We need to start manufacturing to compete at the national level. We cannot remain a service state. The West is providing us with a huge opportunity in terms of manufacturing and we should make the best of that opportunity.”

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a written statement said, “I am happy that Startup Odisha has been recognised by Government of India as top performer. Startup Mela is a great platform that will motivate our students, innovators, and startups to demonstrate Odisha’s entrepreneurial zeal, and will inspire the startup culture at the grassroots and institute level.”

In the opening comments, Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha, said, “When we launched our fund of fund programme with commitment of Rs 100 crore from state government, we received an overwhelming response from the investor community and we are going to have over Rs 1200 crore fund of funds, which will be jointly operated by government and seven AIF fund managers,” Rai said.

Advising the student community on how to avail startup incentives provided by the Government, Saswat Mishra, principal secretary, MSME Department said, “There is a misconception among many youngsters that any new business initiative is a startup and qualifies for government incentives. We need to understand that every new business is not a startup. Any new business which predominantly uses science and technology, new process of manufacturing, any intellectual property or patent-based product is covered by the startup policy.”

Targeted at students of different educational institutions and B-Schools, the inaugural day of the two-day Startup Mela 2023 witnessed a host of interactive sessions for students and featured special sessions including a hackathon, roundtable discussion with incubators, student startup quiz, panel discussion with investors, masterclass on legal and intellectual property compliances.

In the “Ask Subroto Bagchi” programme, Subroto Bagchi, Chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA), said, “It is better to be boot strapped as a startup and seek investment only when you need to scale up. When you choose an investor, you need to look at compatibility as well. As a startup, you will be truly valuable when you are of use to somebody else. Focus therefore on the customer and everything will fall in place.”