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Regular-article-logo Friday, 25 July 2025

Naveen trip to tap investors

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will promote second edition of the Make in Odisha Conclave to be organised in the city, in Mumbai on August 7-8.

Subhashish Mohanty Published 05.08.18, 12:00 AM

Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will promote second edition of the Make in Odisha Conclave to be organised in the city, in Mumbai on August 7-8.

The event will be held in Bhubaneswar from November 11 to 15, and the government hopes to attract big investments through it.

The conclave's first edition had been held in 2016 with support from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). This time, the CII pulled out from the event with the government being forced to seek support from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Naveen's visit to Mumbai comes on the backdrop of Odisha slipping on the industrial map and failing to attract investments compared to other states. In the National Council for Applied and Economic Research report, Odisha has slipped by six places for most attractive state for investors. Now placed at 17th, it is being tagged with Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand and Bihar - which figure at the bottom.

Odisha has slipped on parameters of providing skilled labour, required infrastructure and land to investors. Worried over adverse report about its industrial policies, Naveen on Saturday called a meeting of senior officials to chalk out plans to give a fillip to industrialisation.

Directing officials to organise sector-specific seminars to showcase the business ecosystem, Naveen asked the departments to plan and benchmark each event to the global standards. "The thrust is to bring more diversified industries to provide higher employment opportunities to the people," Naveen said.

Naveen, who will reach Mumbai on the evening of August 7, will meet at least 10 top industrialists on August 8.

A road show will also be organised to focus on five sectors - food and allied industries, metal and downstream industries, chemical and petrochemicals, electronics and IT industries and apparel and textiles.

Industries secretary Sanjeev Chopra said: "A delegation will visit Korea, Japan and China to draw investments. All efforts are being made to provide the right kind of environment to the industrial houses."

Industries minister Ananta Das said: "It's not the government's fault. We have given industrialists all facilities, including infrastructure. If they don't invest money, what can we do?"

However, the Congress and the BJP targeted the government for its failure to draw investments. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said: "The government lacks political will to make the state industrialised."

State BJP vice-president Samir Mohanty said: "It's an inefficient government which lacks a roadmap to industrialise the state."

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