Is Make In Odisha Actually Fake In Odisha?

Bhubaneswar: Empty vessels make more noise- is what the Opposition said on Saturday, criticising State government’s flagship biennial business event ‘Make In Odisha Conclave’ which had promised to bring more investments to the State to flame the establishment of industries.

Digest the fact. In the last 10 years, Odisha government has signed 301 MoUs with various organisations to set up industries in the State. However, only 51 of those have been made operational partially or fully.

During the second edition of the business event, CM Naveen had opined that the government is incessantly working towards developing Odisha as a global hub for industries in certain focus sectors. However, a report recently presented by Minister of State for Industries and MSME Dibya Sankar Mishra during the ongoing Winter Session in the Assembly revealed that only 119 of the 286 proposals received from various industrial establishments in two editions, have been approved so far.

The government data shows that through these 286 projects, an investment of Rs 6,26,349.53 crore was estimated upon completion. However, so far the single window clearance authority has approved only 119 proposals, drastically reducing the investment estimation to Rs 2,53,233.36 crore.

In the second edition when 202 companies showed interest to invest in Odisha, it was estimated to create around 5,91,847 job opportunities for youths in the State. However, only 75 of those have received green signal from the government, which means employment opportunities are open for only 64,560 now. What’s more dismal is that only 35 of the 84 investment proposals received in first edition of Make In Odisha in 2016 have been given a go ahead by the single window clearance authority.

Reports further claimed that road shows were organised in six countries including Italy, Germany, China and South Korea, but Odisha has failed to attract even a single investor from these countries. Same is the case with Indian heavyweights Adani and Ambani who had promised investment, but they also haven't shown any signs of interest, whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties- BJP and Congress have cited that it is lack of interest on part of Odisha government which is why the industrial establishment was limited to campaigns and advertisements only.

Taking a jibe at the Make In Odisha 3.0 scheduled in 2020, senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati said, “Make In Odisha was just an election gimmick. The government made tall claims about creating job opportunities by industrial development but they are least concerned about any of these.“

#Odisha govt spent crores in organising #MakeInOdisha & promised to create jobs, but the initiative has gone up in smoke. Sadly, the govt has no clear intention in bringing industries & creating jobs: Congress MLA Tara Bahinipati's jibe at Make In Odisha 3.0 pic.twitter.com/5tnfDRjjWU

— OTV (@otvnews) November 23, 2019

BJP deputy leader Bishnu Sethi criticised the decision of government organising industrial conclaves in Mumbai and Bangalore. He said, “Numerous times I have requested the government for land acquisition for Oil Refinery at Chandikhol and Polyester Park in Dhamnagar. But nothing has been done so far in this regard. They are just hoodwinking the people, nothing else.”

In response, BJD MLA Prafulla Samal said, “Opposition is saying everything but not mentioning how Odisha became a global attraction through Make In Odisha conclave. All the global investors now prefer Odisha as the place of investment.”

If we look at the Business Reforms Action Plan rankings, popularly referred to as Ease of Doing Business rankings, Odisha was ranked 7th among all states in terms of ease of doing business in 2015. It ranked 11th position in 2016 and again slipped three places to 14th position the next year.

Based on such reports, questions were also raised whether Odisha slipping in the ease of doing business ranks in Indian states has pushed the investors back. Because in the last decade, as many as 10 big industries including POSCO and Mittal have shut down operations in Odisha.

On the other hand, experts are of the opinion that Odisha has to think a lot about its approach in attracting investment organisations. “Odisha government has just climbed one or two steps. There is still a long way to go. We are miles behind from where States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu have reached,” said business expert BS Pani.