Bhubaneswar: Industries and MSME Minister Pratap Keshari Deb Saturday said that time has come for the Odias to change the mindset and take risks and that “this moment belongs to us as all the crucial positions at the Centre are being chaired by Odias”.
Deb said this while addressing the third edition of Business Eminence Award -2023 organised by Orissa POST and Dharitri to recognise and celebrate local entrepreneurship.
The minister, who attended the award function as the chief guest, said, “People of Odisha need to change their mindset to be part of the industrial race. You have to be updated and upfront and willing to take risks. No risks, no gain. If you open the lending ledger of Reserve Bank of India, you can find Odisha at the bottom. This means we are not ready to take loans/risks.”
Deb said that Business Eminence Awards by Dharitri and Orissa POST is perfect place to discuss the business and policies.
He said for industrial growth, infrastructure development is very much necessary and Odisha, under former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik, had started the infrastructure development which was continued by people like Bansidhar Panda, the founder of IMFA.
Deb said, “We have become a power surplus state. In 2016, we started Make in Odisha Conclave to attract investment. In 2022 Make in Odisha Conclave, we got investment intents of Rs 10.5 lakh crore. We have prepared 11 policies on tourism, MSME and other areas under which we are giving facilities and subsidies to new entrepreneurs provided if people with business mindset come forward.”
He encouraged local entrepreneurs to use the Industrial Policy and facilities. Odisha has all the natural resources to achieve the top position in the country as far as industrial development is concerned, Deb said.
He said, “MSMEs are crucial for creating job opportunities, filtration of wealth. No other state gives subsidies in capital investment. The next two decades is Odisha’s and we have the industrial policy to attract investments.”
On the occasion, the newspapers’ Editor Tathagata Satpathy and the minister conferred Business Eminence Award to Subhrakant Panda, Managing Director of Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA) Ltd and president of Federation of FICCI. Panda is the first-ever Odia to become the FICCI president.
Panda, who was the chief speaker of the event, said, “Awards like this is necessary to recognize and encourage entrepreneurs and inspire others to follow the footsteps.” He said in recent times Odisha is doing great by turning itself into a leading investment destination on the basis of reforms and measures to improve the ease of doing business. This happened because of focused approach and good policies by state government.
He also said that Odisha ranks first in investment implementation rate and has been consistently among the top three investment destinations. The third edition of Make in Odisha was a huge success, he added.
PNN
