Bhubaneswar:  From disaster management to handling Covid-19, Odisha has managed to create a distinct identity due to the farsighteness of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Not only that, it has garnered attention by achieving various feats in agriculture, healthcare, skill development, education and sports of which notable events are Asian Athletics, Men Hockey World Cup 2018, 2023 FIFA under 17 Women's World Cup and SAFF football championship, said Minister of State, Electronics & IT, Sports & Youth Services, Tusharkanti Behera at the Sambad CEO Conclave held in the Capital on Tuesday.

Speaking at the inaugural session, the Minister said Odisha has gained the recognition of a sports hub in the country. Apart from that, many IT companies like Wipro, Infosys and Tech Mahindra have opened their centres and many more like IBM, Deloitte and PWC have recently expanded their offices here giving many employment opportunities to the youths in the State. This has created a new atmosphere in the State's IT sector, he said. As Odisha is rich in natural resources, the government's skill development policy has given rise to a lot of prospects for artisans and craftsmen with its continued support. In industrialisation, media plays a pivotal role in making the public aware of its positive impact. It is crucial that efforts are made to foster an enabling environment at every level for industries to flourish, he added.

Participating in the event, FICCI president and IMFA MD Subhrakant Panda said India is not just the most populated country. It has the largest proportion of young population. This apart, it is now the fifth largest economy but in the current decade, it will advance towards the third position, he said.

"Online activity in India is 50 per cent more than America, Europe and China. Now start-ups have mushroomed in  many cities rather than being confined to places like Bangalore. The world is watching India with over 100 start-ups acquiring unicorn status. With rapid urbanisation and its impact on the agrarian economy, skill development of youth is extremely essential," he added.

Sambad Group Chairman and Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said economic progress can't be measured in figures alone. Whether it is the first, second, third, fourth or fifth largest economy, the actual yardstick of progress is determined by which factors we choose to focus on. India is a country unified by multiple diversities. This is its uniqueness. Unless we stick to its unifying characteristic, none of the progress would be worth it, he said.

Commenting on the role of CEOs during economic recession, Patnaik said its crucial to provide a conducive atmosphere to make success easier for them. No matter how talented a CEO might be or how enabling the environment, no progress will be worth it if employees are not treated with equal respect and compassion. "If one has to talk about managing financial crunch, I must say that I have never seen a better CEO than my mother. A lot of you might have one or two children. My mother had eight children. And its awe-inspiring how she managed to raise all of them amidst financial hardships," he said. "It won't take as much time for us to reach the status of developed countries. Sambad is not just a newspaper organisation. It is beyond that and conducts myriad activities throughout the year just like the Odia saying that we have 13 festivals for 12 months. This conclave, being the latest addition, is extremely important to me," Patnaik added.

CEO - IPG Mediabrands India Chairman, BARC, Sashi Sinha said,"Print is a very powerful medium. Print will be the mainstay, the bedrock. The credibility of the newspaper will never go away. The future is going to be in this part of the world. The media and entertainment industry will drive the economy. The future will be the youth from UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha."

ABP network CEO, President, News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA); President, International Advertising Association
(India Chapter), Avinash Pandey said,"Every parameter, goalpost of content – from creation to delivery – has undergone a massive change in a very short span of time. At ABP network, we are using AI to stream content. I have seen lot of such progress and other problems too. Mushrooming news websites and social media platforms have made the competition more intense. It has resulted in democratization of information. But, at the same time it has spread fake news. The need of the time is in developing a unique consumer experience."

Director Strategy, Asian Federation of Advertising Associations Ramesh Narayan said, "Advertising is the only industry in the entire world that can actually create messaging that can help raise money at the time of a natural disaster, that can help rid the world of horrible diseases like polio, and that can change mindsets against domestic violence, animal abuse. That is what actually makes it worthwhile,"

In the welcome address of the conclave, Sambad Group MD Monika Nayyar Patnaik spoke about challenges faced by CEOs during the Covid19 pandemic. "Challenges faced by CEOs during the Covid-19 pandemic was the theme of the first edition of CEO Conclave-2022. The Conclave-2-23 has been organised to look at various obstacles faced by the CEOs and how they are facing the industry challenges and future prospects. Three dozen Indian-origin corporate honchos have dotted the map in the CEO sector all over the world. Odisha is also part of it and we also have wonderful and dynamic CEOs," she said

On the sidelines of the event, the winners of Sambad-International Advertising Association Creative Campaign Contest on 'New Odisha's were felicitated. The winners were picked up from participants that include: Adventures Advertising, The Advertising Corporation of India Pvt. Ltd, Anita Advertisers, Annapurna Advertising, Canonfire Creatives Pvt Ltd, Color Plus, Continental Advertising Services, Display Line, Fast Communication, Herald Advertising Service, Mark Communication, NB Communication, Nexgen, Prelude Novel Ventures Pvt Ltd, P&A Advertising Agency Pvt Ltd, Sanket Communication Pvt Ltd and Star Advertising Pvt Ltd.