NEW DELHI: Odisha has been able to attract new investments of over Rs 1 lakh crore across multiple sectors even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Saturday.
Addressing FICCI's Annual Convention, Patnaik said Odisha is fast emerging as a manufacturing hub of eastern India and listed a series of steps taken by his government to promote industries and investments across different sectors.
He said Odisha has been recognised as an industry destination of choice over the years, was ranked number one in terms of attracting investments during April-September 2019, and poised to continue this leadership position.
"I am happy to note that the investor sentiment towards Odisha is extremely encouraging. Even during the difficult COVID pandemic time, I am happy to inform you that Odisha has been able to attract new investments of over Rs 1 lakh crore across multiple sectors," the chief minister said.
Patnaik said the state has also developed a dedicated land bank with over one lakh acre of land available on the GIS based platform for easy site selection by the industries.
He said in the recent past, new industrial projects were launched in diverse sectors ranging from healthcare, renewable energy, steel and aluminium to food processing.
New industrial projects were launched in diverse sectors ranging from healthcare, renewable energy, steel and aluminium to food processing.
The government is now targeting specific focus sectors including the ancillary and downstream to metal sectors, Patnaik stressed.
"We are working for further value addition in major industrial regions such as Angul and Jharsuguda for aluminium downstream and Kalinga for steel downstream, while Paradip is being developed as a hub for chemicals and petrochemical industries," he said.
As part of the government's initiative to reduce regulatory burden on industries, new end-to-end online systems for over 30 government-to-business services have been developed by various departments of the state, he said.
To further ensure that the service delivery is prompt, the timeline for services has also been induced under the state's Right to Public Services Act, Patnaik added.