Odisha Government Begins Global Investor Drive to Boost Industrial Growth and Employment

In a major push to attract global investment and accelerate industrial growth, the Odisha government is hosting a roadshow and investors' meet in Mumbai

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, has ramped up its efforts to attract investments and strengthen the state’s industrial scene on the same lines as the previous Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government organised the Make In Odisha Conclave. With a focus on creating employment opportunities for the youth and achieving rapid economic growth, the government is organizing an investor summit, “Utkarsh Odisha,” in Mumbai on October 18 and 19, 2024.

The high-profile event will feature roadshows, business-to-business (B2B) meetings, and roundtable discussions designed to showcase Odisha as a prime destination for industrial investments. The two-day event will bring together over 300 representatives from leading corporations, including industry heavyweights such as the Adani Group, Reliance Petrochemicals, Aditya Birla Group, Welspun Textile, JSW, Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and Vedanta.

In addition to these corporate giants, the summit will also see participation from major financial institutions and banks, further highlighting the state’s focus on securing diversified investments. Chief Minister Majhi, along with Odisha’s Minister of Industries and key state officials, will engage in one-on-one discussions with investors to outline the vast industrial opportunities in the state. High-potential sectors such as Information Technology (IT), petrochemicals, textiles, food processing, and chemical industries will be focus areas of the talks.

The state government aims to attract investments worth ₹5 lakh crore through these roadshows, which are planned not only in Mumbai but also in Delhi and key international cities to target global investors. One of the most significant proposals that the Chief Minister will discuss during the Mumbai summit is the establishment of a mega steel plant in Keonjhar, his home district. The state government has assured potential investors of a streamlined land acquisition process to facilitate rapid industrialization in the area.

The Mumbai roadshow will also feature a series of roundtable meetings where the Chief Minister will meet with prominent bankers and financial leaders—an unprecedented move for Odisha in its investment outreach initiatives. This engagement with financial institutions is being done to steer the state’s strategic shift towards creating a robust financial framework to support large industrial projects and ensure sustained economic growth.

The summit comes in the wake of the state government’s recent approval of ₹39,271 crore for 12 major industrial projects on September 19, 2024. This funding is expected to catalyze development in sectors like petrochemicals, steel, and textiles, with a strong focus on job creation. The Mumbai event will reinforce the government’s commitment to ensuring that investments translate into tangible employment opportunities for the people of Odisha, the CM had stated at a meeting in Keonjhar.

At such a juncture, it is pertinent to mention about the investments committed and their fruition during the previous government's Make in Odisha Conclave. The conclaves held earlier attracted investments, with proposals worth ₹10 lakh crore received during the 2022 edition, aimed at generating 10 lakh jobs across various sectors. Under Patnaik’s leadership, Odisha had secured investments worth ₹4.19 lakh crore during the 2018 Make in Odisha Conclave, providing employment to nearly 6 lakh people across 18 sectors. The 2022 edition saw even greater success, with proposals crossing the ₹10 lakh crore mark.

Dilip Bisoyi, a senior journalist and former information commissioner of Odisha, exuded hope about the importance of such summits. "The government has taken the right decision to boost the industrial growth at the right time. Like the previous government, the current leadership has also been proactive and this will be a major step in providing employment opportunities to our youths," he asserted.

Opposition Parties Beg to Differ

However, opposition parties have raised concerns about the impact of these initiatives. Congress leader Santosh Singh Saluja has questioned the effectiveness of past investment drives, arguing that while substantial funds have been allocated for industry, the on-ground results in terms of job creation remain a far cry. "These are just hogwash. A lot of funds are being used for these shows where only government officials and ministers enjoy at the expense of public money," he alleged.

He further alleged that government resources are being spent on high-profile events without tangible outcomes for the common people. Despite these criticisms, industry experts remain optimistic about Odisha’s potential as an industrial hub. "None of these can match the '1000 days 1000 industries' policy of Congress' former Chief Minister Janaki Ballav Patnaik," he said.

Chief Minister Majhi has expressed confidence that the event will open new avenues for industrial investments, particularly in sectors with high growth potential, such as IT and petrochemicals. The summit will also be a platform for the government to engage with investors on large-scale infrastructure projects, ensuring that the state’s ambitious targets for industrial growth are met in the coming years.

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit

Gujarat, the first state to have initiated the move through the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, has proved how such summits help states achieve industrial growth. It held the 10th edition on January 12 this year and saw investment proposals worth Rs 26.33 lakh crore with MoUs signed for 41,299 projects. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel took to social media platform X stating that huge investment proposals have been received in semiconductors and financial services besides green hydrogen, renewable power, e-mobility, and fintech at the GIFT city.

The CM had stated that the MoUs inked in 2022 and 2024 added up would amount to around 98,540 which are worth more than Rs 45 lakh crore. The registrations on the official investor facilitation portal (IFP) reflect 98,540 projects inked with proposed investments of Rs 45.20 lakh crore between the 9th and 10th editions of the summit.