Devbrat Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: The 15th Finance Commission, under the chairmanship of Nand Kishore Singh, today held discussions with the Odisha government and several stakeholders including various political parties, chambers of commerce and other outfits on socio-economic challenges, future possibilities of growth and development in the State.

On day 1 of the 3-day consultation programme here in Bhubaneswar, the Commission first had a talk with urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions to seek their opinion on various developmental activities. Later, the members of the Commission interacted with the representatives of several industries and other stakeholders like the chambers of commerce.

In the evening, the FC had a wide ranging consultation with political parties and in the days following there will be extensive deliberations on various aspects including Central assistance, sharing of taxes, grants to panchayati raj institutions and other important issues, besides projecting the State's requirements for the next five years from 2020.

Chairman of FICCI Odisha, Subhrakant Panda handed over a representation to NK Singh suggesting policy initiatives to encourage value addition to minerals and measures to augment infrastructure to capture Odisha's growth potential.

Speaking to OTV, Panda said, "Our suggestion was to give importance to value addition and think of how mineral-based industries can become globally competitive. For that whatever taxes, duties cess are being charged, that should be at par with the international standards."

As per reports, the members of the commission will also visit Self Help Groups (SHGs), drinking water projects, cyclone shelters, and other development projects.

Odisha Finance Minister Shashi Bhusan Behera informed that the Odisha government will submit its memorandum to the Finance Commission tomorrow regarding financial planning and requirements from 2020 to 2025.

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