BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has constituted a high-level task force to accelerate the pace of industrialisation by ensuring early grounding of proposed investments and expedite pending infrastructure projects in the state.
The 17-member task force headed by the chief secretary will regularly review the progress of major industrial projects and ensure inter-departmental coordination for swift resolution of bottlenecks.
The high-level committee has been tasked to resolve issues related to mining, industries, energy, water resources, highways, mobile connectivity and projects covered under project monitoring group (PMG) and proactive governance and timely implementation (PRAGATI).
The move comes in the wake of the state attracting investment intents worth Rs 16.73 lakh crore during the Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha Conclave 2025 held in January. The proposals include 593 industrial projects across more than 20 sectors, with a projected employment potential for 12.88 lakh people.
In the recently concluded investors’ meet at New Delhi, the state has also signed MoUs worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, including mega investments from Indian Oil and Petronet LNG. There are also several railway and national highway projects that are pending since long due to lack of statutory clearances and delay in land acquisition.
Industries department sources said the task force will act as a central mechanism to monitor implementation timelines, facilitate faster approvals, and address project-level issues in real-time. The state government aims to ensure that these proposed projects are grounded at the earliest, driving job creation and boosting economic growth.
The Mohan Majhi government has laid out a clear roadmap to position the state as a manufacturing and investment hub in next one decade. With an eye on long-term development, the government has also set an ambitious target to transform Odisha into a developed state by 2036 coinciding with the centenary celebration of the statehood.
“The state’s proactive approach, investor-friendly policies and single-window facilitation mechanism have significantly improved the ease of doing business. The state has signed MoUs with several companies from niche sectors. The task force is expected to play a critical role in translating MoUs and investment intents into on-ground realities, besides accelerating pending projects,” said an official.