PARADIP: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated the sulphuric acid plant-III at IFFCO’s Paradip unit, built at a cost of Rs 750 crore.
Addressing the gathering, Shah said the expansion would support India’s push towards self-reliance in fertiliser production. He noted that IFFCO, owned by around 36,000 cooperatives, benefits nearly five crore farmers across the country.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of self-reliance not only means manufacturing fertilisers, but also producing all the raw materials required for fertiliser production within the country,” he said.
The Union minister said the Centre is committed to developing every village in Odisha on the lines of the Gujarat model, where about 36 lakh rural women have been empowered and made self-reliant. Both the central and the state government would explore the full potential of Odisha to strengthen the rural economy by improving fisheries, dairy and cooperative sectors.
Shah further said the ‘double-engine government’ in Odisha is accelerating the state’s development. “Despite having abundant natural resources, people of the state have remained poor for many years as its potential was not properly utilised by previous governments,” he alleged.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said IFFCO has a key role to play in fertiliser production in the country. The state government is committed to setting up a textile park in Paradip and developing the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore.
Among others, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Industries, Skill Development and Technical Education Minister Sampad Swain, Jagatsinghpur MP Bibhu Prasad Tarai, MLA Amarendra Das, IFFCO chairman Dileep Sanghani and managing director KJ Patel were present.