Bhubaneswar, June 24: With Orissa emerging as a favoured investment destination for investors, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) today held a conclave of industries here to explore further investment opportunities.
A study conducted by Assocham revealed that the state has attracted a total of 574 investment projects involving Rs 11.3 lakh crore by the end of 2010. In 2010 alone, the state could woo fresh investments to the tune of Rs 1.8 lakh crore for 72 projects, said Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat.
Around 46 per cent of the total investments have been implemented despite several teething problems on many fronts, said Rawat.
Stating that Orissa has ranked fourth among all Indian states in total investment, chairman of Assocham regional development council, Lalit Khaitan, said the state has the potential to grow at an even faster pace.
Assocham’s electronics council chief Aniruddh Dhoot said Orissa could emerge as one of the major IT destinations such as Bangalore and Hyderabad. Major companies such as Infosys, TCS and Wipro were already having their presence here, he noted, while suggesting that more and more IT parks should be developed on public-private partnership mode.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik hoped that Assocham’s initiatives would give a “new impetus in the state’s industrialisation drive”.
Stating that the state government has embarked upon a progressive policy that promotes optimum utilisation of resources, Naveen said: “My government is open to discuss with stakeholders and investors to facilitate necessary investment solutions.”
Keeping in view the robust expansion of the industrial promotion and investment, the state government is exploring its best possible variants of innovation through research and development in order to bring in vertical and horizontal expansion in the industry, said Naveen. Stating that his government recognises the importance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which play a major role in employment generation, the chief minister said: “A healthy and vibrant MSME sector creates more employment opportunities and leads to the development of local entrepreneurship as well as the removal of regional imbalance by promoting industrial activities.”
Underscoring a need to set up suitable industrial estates and parks by the large industries where small-scale industries can come and set up their units, Naveen said, government and industry have to come together to plan and create such infrastructure at locations such as Jharsuguda, Angul, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Kalinganagar, Paradip, Balasore, Rayagada and other viable locations.
State industries secretary T. Ramachandru urged the participants to bring and more industries to the state and set up plants to produce end products instead of intermediary raw materials here.
