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A brisk evening's discussion on Odisha's investment potential hosted by the Chairman


Hello there! I see you quite excited. What’s up?

Well hello back to you! Haven’t you heard? The Chairman was here in Bhubaneswar! And I got to meet him.

That’s so cool! What happened that day?

The Chairman had organised an evening with the intellectual community of the state to discuss on Odisha as a superpower for having a tremendous investment potential. He also led the discussions on how development could be brought sooner in the state and how industries can play a crucial part in this.

From left to right:
1st row: Shri Debi Prasad Mishra, Shri Anil Agarwal, Shri T.K Chand
2nd row: The esteemed guests, Shri Abhijit Pati, The delegates
That’s such a nice topic for discussion. It concerns all of us. Who all were present?

The Minister of Industries, School & Mass Education - Shri Debi Prasad Mishra was present along with Dr. T.K Chand, the CMD of NALCO. Other dignitaries and bureaucrats of the State were also present. The intellectual community consisting of who’s who from various industries and corporates and institutions were also present like Tata Steel, The Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry Limited, CII, Sai International, TCS among others. The gathering also showcased a student representation from premier educational institutes of the state like XIM Bhubaneswar and IMI.

Meeting with the intellectuals of the state
That’s quite a healthy diversity. The conversations would have gone quite well.

Yes! The Hon’ble Minister said that recent times have seen the establishment of many projects in Odisha with the government’s facilitation programs like strengthening the ‘ease of doing business’ in the state, holding investor meets across the country etc. With the presence of large scale industries in the state at strategic locations, Odisha is poised to be at the center of the ‘Make In India’ campaign.

Dr. T.K Chand put in a short address thanking the Chairman about investing 52000 crores in Odisha which led to the creation of employment of people in one of the poorest regions of the country. He also appreciated the fact that together, the social responsibilities of the industries can lead a positive change in the development scenario.

The Chairman also had a few words to say before the informal discussions started. In his address, he said that it was time Kalahandi’s people saw real development which aimed at eradicating poverty and creating viable livelihood sources. He thanked the Hon’ble CM for recognizing the fact that this process needed expediting and industrialization of the region was going to go a long way in achieving this.

That’s an interesting point. I was reading about the recent incidents in Kalahandi which took the entire nation by storm. I agree that people deserve better.

With the government’s active interest and support, we will better things there. The Chairman committed to the development of the region by declaring an investment of 1000 crores for a medical college in Kalahandi.

But what about the discussions on Odisha’s investment scenario?

The conversations gathered momentum with Aluminum taking the spotlight initially. The Chairman opined that it is India who is best suited to manufacture and market Aluminium, not China. China doesn’t have indigenous bauxite but their industry is heavily subsidized for manufacturing aluminium. But India, especially Odisha has a genuine potential of becoming a leader in Aluminium manufacturing and value addition because of the availability of the resources. This was supported by Dr. TK Chand and discussed with the Hon’ble Minister. It gradually moved on in favor of setting up SMEs in the state which would open the gates of entrepreneurship and technological advancement.

But there was one thing the Chairman laid stout emphasis on – responsible mining through cutting edge technology. He said, “I want to leave the earth better than when I got it”. His vision for creating a world-class university in Odisha to make it the educational hub of India was also appreciated by the gathering.

The student community took advantage of the forum in interacting with the illustrious delegates and had conversations on how Odisha can be made an industrial superpower. The Make in India will enable the country to diminish import dependency and shed the identity of a buyer’s market.

Students from IMI and XIM, Bhubaneswar
Seems like a successful event. I hope you enjoyed the evening?

Seeing so many pioneers and who’s who of the State at one place made my evening a special one! Plus the conversations were amazing. I wish you could have attended it.

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