BHUBANESWAR: Industries Minister Pratap Deb handles the key portfolio during a crucial period after the Covid-19 pandemic. Waiting for three and a half years to get into the Naveen Patnaik cabinet, Deb has been entrusted with the task of giving a new fillip to the industrial ecosystem by overseeing the grounding of investment proposals received by the State.
Ahead of the Make-in-Odisha Conclave in November, Deb tells Bijay Chaki that people are still conservative about industrialisation, which has led to many problems. There is a need to change people’s mindset for transforming Odisha into an industrialised State.
Make-in-Odisha was launched in 2016 to push the industrial growth of the State? How far you have moved ahead?
The government of Odisha started industrialisation on a mission mode in 2016. In the last two editions, Make-in-Odisha attracted investment intent of more than Rs 6 lakh crore. Ahead of the third edition of the flagship event, we can say that the State has moved ahead.
Has the goal of launching the initiative been achieved?
The goal of the State government is industrialisation and it is an ongoing process. The more proposals come in, the better for us. So, after each edition the target shifts for more. There cannot be any fixed target or goal.
What has been the follow-up action of the government after the first and second editions of the Make-in-Odisha?
We received 164 investment proposals worth Rs 2,03,235 crore in the first edition of the Make-in-Odisha. Of these, 58 projects were approved and 35 projects worth Rs 1.17 lakh crore have been grounded which comes to 42 per cent. Similarly, the State received 202 proposals of Rs 4.23 lakh crore with an employment potential of 1.5 lakh during the second edition in 2018.
Out of the 108 projects which were approved, 67 worth Rs 2.40 lakh crore have already materialised. This comes to around a 32 per cent success rate. Besides, during the Covid-19 pandemic also the State received 235 investment proposals of which 125 were approved and 16 have been grounded.
Despite the large number of proposals received by the government, their grounding has been poor. It is said that many investors are not interested to proceed because of land-related issues. Many proposals to set up hotels and hospitals have been delayed because of this.
It is wrong to say that investors are turning away because of land-related issues. The State government has taken care to ensure that priority sector proposals get to land. The grounding of the project is around 40 per cent which is a record in the entire country. But, Odisha is in a period of transition from an agro-based economy to an economy based on industry and the mindset of people will have to change.
In Odisha, people are still very conservative. We hope that New Odisha which is technology savvy and ready to compete in the market will take the step forward in this regard. We will have to wait. We cannot rush through.
It has been seen that other than metal and mining projects, Odisha has not been able to draw investors in varied sectors. The manufacturing sector in the State has not been able to pick up. Why is it so and what is the strategy of the government to turn things?
It is true. Because Odisha has an abundant treasure of metal and minerals, related investments and industries will have to come to the State. The government on its part has been open to investment in all sectors - manufacturing, education, tourism, pharmaceuticals and others. It is working to facilitate the investors to industrialise the State and ensure employment generation. The ball is in the court of the investors. We are open to all.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has personally conducted roadshows in Dubai, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad ahead of the third edition. What is so special about the third edition?
This time we are aggressively promoting Odisha and the Hon’ble Chief Minister himself is leading from the front. After the pandemic and general recession because of several reasons including the Ukraine war, the government is taking all steps to woo investors and bring maximum investment to Odisha.