Odisha Wants To Play The Host To Global Business Partnerships

As a prelude to ‘Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025’, the State’s flagship investment summit, scheduled to be held on January 28-29, 2025, Chief Minister of Odisha Mohan Charan Majhi has said that the State will facilitate the setting up of global partnership between Indian and foreign businesses.

Underscoring Odisha’s transformation into a hub of industrial growth, the Chief Minister highlighted the State’s focus on job creation, investor-friendly policies and security for businesses in a recent event held at Taj Palace, New Delhi. This was attended by several industry captains from India and abroad, along with trade commissioners and senior diplomats from many foreign countries.

Diplomats, including ambassadors, high commissioners, consul-generals, from 34 nations, such as Indonesia, Norway, UK, USA, and Japan, attended the gathering in the Capital.

State officials point out that Odisha is poised to become a $1.5 trillion economy by 2047 as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. With the help of Central government’s Purvodaya scheme, which focuses on the development of eastern states, the State aims to be $500 billion economy by 2036 when it completes 100 years.

In an interactive session with prospective investors, Chief Secretary of the Government of Odisha Manoj Ahuja noted that Odisha ranks the highest in Ease of Doing Business, while offering lowest cost of setting up business. He pointed out that the State has streamlined business processes through advanced digital platforms and district-level investment facilitation agencies.

Minister of Industries and Skill Development & Technical Education, Govt. of Odisha Sri Sampad Chandra Swain reiterated Odisha’s vast potential for investment across various sectors “ease of business is a lived reality” in Odisha, he said. “In Odisha we invest in people”. When you invest in Odisha you are investing in human capital, he said.

The industrial sector has been a key driver of State’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), accounting for 43% of state’s revenue collections. The contribution of service sector and the agriculture and allied sector to State revenues stood at 36% and 21% per cent, respectively.

State officials said the economy of Odisha is diversified, and offers great opportunities for investments in critical minerals, iron ore, steel, stainless steel and Aluminium. The State offers excellent location advantages as gateway to ASEAN region where global manufacturing hub is shifting.

Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Government of Odisha, said the emerging business opportunities in the State emanate in sectors such as petrochemicals and technical textile, anode & cathode, chemical batteries, plastics and packaging, speciality chemicals, refractories and metal ancillaries and titanium-based chemicals.

Several Indian business leaders, including Harish Ahuja, Chairman of Shahi Exports, Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director, Dalmia Bharat Group, and AS Sahney, Director, IOCL, shared their experience of doing business in the State, along with insights on the business environment and the opportunities for collaboration.