Odisha has emerged as a preferred investment destination for industries, from within India and across the globe, said Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi while addressing an Investors’ Meet held here.
Speaking about why Odisha has become so significant for attracting investments, Padhi said it has been ranked by ASSOCHEM as number one State in investment implementation rate and has been consistently ranked amongst the top three States in terms of live manufacturing investments in India.
“Odisha experienced a 16.5 per cent year-on-year growth in live investments during 2016-17, compared to just 4.6 per cent growth in India during that period,” he said.
To ensure hassle-free business environment to investors, the State machinery has taken significant steps in terms of policy and institutional reforms, he said.
“The common thread in these policies is the intent of the State Government to broad base the industrial growth and accord focused attention to identified manufacturing sectors, to realize the “Vision 2025” laid out in the Odisha Industrial Development Plan,” he said, adding that the overall focus has been to incentivize value addition, encourage innovation and ensure sustainable development through these policies.
Informing the captains of the industry attending the meet about institutional mechanism the State has developed to facilitate ease of doing business, Padhi said the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority and the State Level
Facilitation Cell have emerged as strong and effective setups to smooth the progress of enterprises.
The approval time for projects has been reduced to less than 20 days due to institutional reforms and enhanced interdepartmental coordination, he said, adding that timelines for delivering G2B services have not only been radically reduced but also included under the Odisha Right to Public Services Act.
Speaking about technological reforms which have helped in reducing the physical B2G interface, Padhi told about introduction of a first of its kind and innovative ‘GO SWIFT’ - Government of Odisha Single Window Investor Facilitation and Tracking portal and several other technological interventions.
Elaborating on the development of human capital, he said the State has launched the “Skilled in Odisha” programme which is emerging as a global brand.
