Skilled workforce and conducive business environment attracting textile and apparel industries to Odisha
Industry leaders across India to come and visit Odisha and we are here to support you: Dibyashankar
National-level Seminar on Making Odisha the Textiles Hub
Bhubaneswar(Kalinga Voice) : A national-level Seminar on Making Odisha the Textiles Hub of the East organized by IPICOL at the Convention Hall, Lok Sewa Bhavan, Bhubaneswar.
Welcoming the gathering Shri Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, Industries, Govt. Of Odisha has highlighted the recent growth of the state primarily driven by the push towards industrial growth. He has also elaborated the strong driving factors of Odisha making it the manufacturing hub of the East such as the strategic location of Odisha in the ASEAN region, the industrial infrastructure, highly skilled manpower and especially the proactive governance.
Stressing on the Industry readiness of Odisha, Capt. Dibya Shankar Mishra, Hon’ble Minister Industries, MSME, Energy & Home, Government of Odisha said, “We have more than 1.5 lac acres of land, ready to be used by the industries coming down to Odisha. Not only in recent times, but Odisha also has a long history in textile and global trading.”
He further added, “It is in this regard that our Government has prioritized this sector and is seeking mega-investments from major textiles and apparel players. The Government of Odisha is in discussions over a special incentive package for mega investments in the Textiles and Apparel including Technical Textiles Sector. I would like to make an appeal to industry leaders across India to come and visit Odisha and we are here to support you.”
Addressing the august gathering, Shri Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India elaborated the new schemes of the Central Government and pointed out the areas where India based industries can focus on to have a growth in this sector.
Participating in the Seminar, Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D) and Director (Planning and Business Development), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) highlighted the huge availability of synthetic raw materials such as Polypropylene, MEG, PX-PTA as well as PSF, DTY and FDY required for the technical textile and the active participation of IOCL at the Technical textile park in Bhadrak.
Shri Pradeep Jena, Development commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha has informed about the recent investments and how the Government is working round the clock for the fast groundbreaking of all the projects. Talking about the progressive reforms, he said, “In the last few years we have done many reforms, built a conducive business environment, built state-of-the-art infrastructure, introduced progressive policies and given special attention to the industries at various stages.”
Leading national and global players like Shahi Exports, Aditya Birla Fashion, Page Industries and Wild Lotus participated in the seminar and shared their experience in the state and how factors like highly skilled manpower, proactive governance, on-time and hassle-free delivery of the promised incentives and the state-of-the infrastructure are helping them scale their businesses. They have also promised to consider Odisha for their future expansions of greenfield and diversification of projects.
Domain leaders including Bhilosha Industries, Vardhman textiles, Dixcy textiles, Indorama industries and Shubhalakshmi polyesters were also present at the Seminar.
Among others, Shri Debasis Sen, Director, Planning and Business Development, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), Shri Dhananjaya Srivastava, Executive Director ( Petrochemicals), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Ms Shubha Sarma, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts Department, Government of Odisha also spoke. Shri Bhupendra Singh Poonia, MD, IPICOL proposed the Vote of thanks.
