Bhubaneswar: The state government's Startup Odisha and Smart City initiatives have reached a wide audience and won the appreciation of the European Union.

A 12-member European Union delegation, headed by first counsellor and head of research and innovation Tania Friederichs, recently visited the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) department with a view to learn about the initiatives and explore possibilities of co-operation. They interacted with various stakeholders during their visit.

The department's additional chief secretary L.N. Gupta presented details of the Startup Odisha initiative and told the delegation about the salient features of Odisha startup policy, startup portal and the benefits offered to such intiatives.

Appreciating the benefits offered to the 175 start-ups during a 10-month period, Friederichs proposed to extend network help from the European Union and collaborate in areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Bhubaneswar Development Authority vice-chairman Krishan Kumar made a detailed presentation on the smart city initiatives. The delegation showed interest in electric vehicles, energy efficiency, urban transport and renewable energy components and applauded the various initiatives of the government.

Summarising the interaction, Friederichs said they would like to carry forward the dialogue in terms of workshops and meetings and form a concrete plan for collaboration. They also offered to share their best practices and experiences with the government.

In another development, the Xavier School of Commerce of Xavier University here had recently organised a conference on accounting and finance.

The theme for the conference was "Commerce in digitised India". Spread across four sessions, the conference saw wide participation from students and professors of the institute.