Eastern India’s first business park comes up in Odisha’s Baleswar

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Baleswar, Mar 14:

A business park complex, the first in eastern India, was dedicated to the state here today by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

“I am delighted to visit and dedicate this wonderful Business Park complex, the only of its kind in eastern India, to the people of Odisha today. I hope that this park shall facilitate trade and promote enterprise as well as serve as a platform for promoting arts, crafts and culture in northern Odisha,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said.

Odisha’s enterprise has a glorious past. The business park set up by  NOCCI Baleswar Infrastructure Company (NBIC) is an effort in reviving this glorious past. I am impressed with the infrastructure that has been created and compliment North Odisha Chambers of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) and IDCO for the same. I am also pleased to know that this project is counted amongst the most successful projects in the country under Centre’s  Industrial  Infrastructure Upgradation (IIU) scheme. The project is also a very successful model of Public Private Partnership wherein the public and private partners have come forward to build upon their key strengths, Patnaik said.

During the last 15 years, Odisha has seen great transformation in industrial development and growth. Though considered a poor and backward state about two decades ago, today, we are considered amongst the leading states of the country in industrial growth and development, the chief minister pointed out.

“In fact in 2013, the Reserve Bank of India formally announced Odisha to be the number one state in attracting industrial investments in the country. During this short period, our core sectors which include power, aluminium, steel and port have witnessed growth ranging from 350 percent to 1000 percent. The state has also registered a growth of about 700 percent in software exports during this period. Today, Odisha accounts for 10 percent of the steel and more than 50 percent of aluminium produced in the country. I am also glad that all this growth has been achieved alongside a significant reduction in poverty in the state. Odisha, as you may be aware, is credited with the highest poverty reduction of more than 20 percent between 2005 and 2011”, he added.

The chief minister also said the state government, keeping the focus of the government on poverty eradication and inclusion, is in the process of creating an enabling environment for promotion of enterprise, especially MSMEs, for sustainable growth of the economy of the state.

A number of initiatives including a new Industrial Policy Resolution, amendments in the Odisha Industries Facilitation Act, an SEZ policy etc. are currently underway and likely to be completed shortly. These shall significantly improve the ease of doing business in our state he noted.