ET Bureau The headlines on industry in Odisha in the past few years have been about the failure of big-ticket projects such as Posco’s and ArcelorMittal’s, land issues and environmental violations. On the eve of the MakeinOdisha event, Sanjeev Chopra, the state’s principal secretary-industries, tells Meera Mohanty that it is time to move on. Most of the big names that matter — Kumar Mangalam Birla, Anil Agarwal, AM Naik, Sajjan Jindal and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley — are attending the event. Edited excerpts from an interview.
What are the three reasons anyone should invest in Odisha?
The kind of diverse opportunities that Odisha offers, such as downstream and ancillary sectors in metal which has been untapped so far. Opportunities in apparel and garments, seafood and petrochemical and plastic industries.
Odisha has the lowest wage rate, power rate, and cost of living in all of the east and is among the most competitive places to do business in, in the country.
And to supplement that advantage, the state is building a huge network of infrastructure to reduce the cost of logistics, which has been a cause of concern. Odisha is pioneer in the manner it has invested in railway infrastructure, which will take coal from the IB Valley in Talcher straight up to the Paradip and Dhamra ports.
We will also have the Inland Waterway Five on the Mahanadi, which will radically bring down trade cost. And there is also the proposal of extending the eastern economic corridor, from Chennai to Vizag, up to Odisha.
Is Odisha turning away from its biggest advantage, its minerals? Are you abandoning the existing mineral-based industries?
Not at all. That will remain our USP, but the fact remains we need to broad-base our economic and industrial development. The problem of raw materials is temporary which should ease when more mines are auctioned next year.
The MakeinOdisha campaign has been extensive and ambitious. What are you going to judge its success by?
The quality of people and investment intentions during the next three days and the sort of attention that Odisha gets henceforth in India and abroad. Odisha has not marketed itself as an investment destination. The story of Odisha is yet to be told.
What are the three reasons anyone should invest in Odisha?
The kind of diverse opportunities that Odisha offers, such as downstream and ancillary sectors in metal which has been untapped so far. Opportunities in apparel and garments, seafood and petrochemical and plastic industries.
Odisha has the lowest wage rate, power rate, and cost of living in all of the east and is among the most competitive places to do business in, in the country.
And to supplement that advantage, the state is building a huge network of infrastructure to reduce the cost of logistics, which has been a cause of concern. Odisha is pioneer in the manner it has invested in railway infrastructure, which will take coal from the IB Valley in Talcher straight up to the Paradip and Dhamra ports.
We will also have the Inland Waterway Five on the Mahanadi, which will radically bring down trade cost. And there is also the proposal of extending the eastern economic corridor, from Chennai to Vizag, up to Odisha.
Is Odisha turning away from its biggest advantage, its minerals? Are you abandoning the existing mineral-based industries?
Not at all. That will remain our USP, but the fact remains we need to broad-base our economic and industrial development. The problem of raw materials is temporary which should ease when more mines are auctioned next year.
The MakeinOdisha campaign has been extensive and ambitious. What are you going to judge its success by?
The quality of people and investment intentions during the next three days and the sort of attention that Odisha gets henceforth in India and abroad. Odisha has not marketed itself as an investment destination. The story of Odisha is yet to be told.
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