Bhubaneswar: State govt on Friday signed MoUs with 7 companies to set up industries across 6 sectors, including steel, metal downstream, textiles, power, green energy equipment and chemicals, in Odisha. The projects worth Rs 24,823 crore are expected to create employment for around 29,500 people.According to the MoUs, Shyam Metallics will invest Rs 20,000 crore in the chemicals sector, creating 15,000 jobs. Singhal Steel and Power will invest Rs 1,301 crore in the chemicals sector and generate 3,000 jobs. K Urja will invest Rs 2,472 crore in the power sector, while CESC Green Energy will invest Rs 684 crore in the green energy equipment sector.The MoUs were signed at the Eastern Region Council Meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here in the presence of chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, industries minister Sampad Chandra Swain and company representatives.Addressing the gathering, the chief minister told industrialists that India’s economic growth over the past several decades had largely depended on the western and southern corridors. The next major chapter of India’s growth story, he said, is now being written in eastern India. With abundant mineral resources, vast agricultural potential, a long coastline and a young, aspirational workforce, the region is moving ahead rapidly, he added.Speaking about steps taken by the govt to accelerate industrialisation, Majhi said major reforms had been introduced through “Deregulation 1.0” and “Deregulation 2.0”. As a result, the time required to set up industries has come down from 400 days to less than 160 days, with a target to reduce it further to under 100 days, he said.“Since June 2024, the Odisha govt has approved 477 projects worth around Rs 9.5 lakh crore, which are expected to generate employment for six lakh people. Of these, 12 projects involving investments of over Rs 3.11 lakh crore have already completed grounding and reached the inauguration stage, demonstrating that Odisha is not only attracting investments but also implementing them successfully,” the chief minister said.Majhi said Odisha is no longer confined to a mineral-based economy and is now focusing on future-oriented sectors such as steel, aluminium, chemicals, petrochemicals through the Paradip hub, semiconductors and electronics.At the end of the conference, Majhi invited industry groups to become partners in Odisha’s progress and urged them to work together towards building “Developed India 2047”.
