Bhubaneswar: Odisha gears up for a major industrial revolution as it is set to take a giant leap at the two-day mega business conclave - 'Utkarsh Odisha: Make In Odisha 2025' kicking off in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
The business conclave will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Janata Maidan here on January 28. This also marks PM Modi's fifth visit to Odisha since the formation of the new BJP government in the state.
Through the business summit, the Odisha government aims to create a strong industrial infrastructure and position itself among the top-5 economic states in the country by 2036. The event is expected to attract investments worth over Rs 5 lakh crore and consequently generate more than 3.5 lakh employment opportunities.
As per reports, more than 7000 delegates, including envoys, investors and industrialists from India and 12 other countries, are expected to participate in the business conclave. Nearly 7500 industry representatives have registered their names through the website of the Make in Odisha 2025 event. Industry stalwarts like SL Mittal, Om Mangalam Birla, Anil Agarwal, Hitesh Joshi, TV Narendran, Karan Adani, Naveen Jindal, Aiklan Jindal are also scheduled to attend the summit. More than 100 investor agreements are likely to be signed at the event.
Principal Secretary of State Industries Department, Hemant Sharma said the government has invited 100 out of 400 Fortune companies, to participate in the 'Utkarsh Odisha-Make in Odisha' conclave.
This time, at the Utkarsh Odisha Conclave, the government's focus areas will be on five sectors including IT, renewable energy, textiles, chemicals, and food processing. Similarly, 12 countries like Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Poland, Cuba have been invited as 'Countries of Focus'.
How Many Sessions
Along with PM Modi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram will also join the programme.
In the event spanning two days, 15 special sessions would be held for different sectors, five sessions on first day and 10 sessions on the second day. The event agenda includes plenary sessions - 'Skilling For Viksit Odisha 2036 And Viksit Bharat 2047' and 'Skilled In Odisha: Local To Global', 16 sectoral sessions and four roundtable meetings for dialogues on sustainable industrial growth. The conclave isn’t just about industry prospects. Experts will also hold discussions on empowerment through initiatives like Startup Odisha, Skill in Odisha, and Subhadra Yojana. Overall, the conclave will have strategic sessions, sector-specific discussions, country-focus sessions, and one-on-one business meetings too. On behalf of the Culture department, prominent Odissi dancer and Padma Shri awardee Aruna Mohanty will showcase a dance performance during the event.
Key highlights of the event:
- CEOs, Women Business Leaders And Editors' Roundtables for developing industry vision for Viksit Odisha 2036.
- Curated Sectoral Sessions showcasing Odisha's leadership in traditionanl and new-age sectors.
- Countries-of-focus where diplomatic representatives will showcase potential for trade and business opportunities with Odisha.
- Start-up Odisha which will be a platform for ideas and innovation where entrepreneurs would meet investors and incubators.
Odisha On The Move
Within seven months of the new government coming to power, the Mohan Majhi-led team has approved at least 159 industrial projects, drawing investments of Rs 2.75 lakh crore to Odisha so far. It is likely to generate 2.15 lakh employment opportunities. Recently, the Odisha government also signed eight MoUs with Singapore in the field of green energy, industrial infrastructure and skill development, boosting the state's profile as an emerging global business hub. The government has set a target of making Odisha a prosperous, industrialised and inclusive state by 2036, with increased focus on sustainable growth, job creation and economic benefit for all. Prior to the Utkarsh Odisha conclave, Odisha government held investor conferences in Delhi, Mumbai and Singapore in order to promote the state's potential in the global stage.
This is reportedly the fourth edition of the Make in Odisha conclave being organised by the Odisha government. Under Naveen Patnaik's leadership, the then BJD government organised three business summits in 2016, 2018 and 2022, respectively. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to Covid crisis.
Sources in the previous government said, "In 2016, the conclave attracted investment proposals worth around Rs 2 lakh crore. In the next edition in 2018, proposals worth Rs 4 lakh crore were received. In the third edition of Make in Odisha held in 2022, the state drew investment proposals worth around Rs 10.30 lakh crore. By the time BJD government was ousted, around 60 percent of the projects had been grounded, and Odisha stood number 1 in the country in grounding of projects."
According to the RBI report released last year, Odisha was ranked third nationally in terms of investment. The CMI and CII reports placed Odisha in the second rank. In the last 7-8 years, Odisha's export volume has almost doubled. Cement production has increased 22 times in the last two decades, steel production has risen about 15 times. This apart, Port handling capacity has increased from 20 metric tonnes to 176 metric tonnes.
PM Modi To Inaugurate Utkarsh Odisha Event
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Odisha on January 28 on a one-day visit to inaugurate the Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025. The PM will arrive in Bhubaneswar from Delhi by a special flight on January 28 at around 10:35 am. He will leave Bhubaneswar airport at 10:40 am and head straight to Janata Maidan for the inauguration scheduled at 11 am. After attending the event, PM Modi will leave for Dehradun by a special flight at 12:55 pm.
Speaking about the security arrangements, Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra said, "Police Commissionerate is proactively working in this regard and elaborate security arrangements have been made for the arrival of the Prime Minister, as well as the safety of other dignitaries. More than 400 officers of different ranks will be deployed. We have separate arrangements for crowd control, traffic, at venue place, at airport, etc."
