Odisha unveils 'industry care' initiative to drive reforms awareness

The engagement programme will facilitate expansion of existing units and support new units coming up in the state

Odisha's industries department has rolled out a district-wise formal engagement initiative titled 'Industry Care' to raise awareness about business reforms and institutional mechanisms among industries. The initiative will also address their issues on a high priority basis. 

This engagement will also facilitate the expansion of existing units and support new units coming up in the state. 

The first such meeting was held with industries based in Angul, at Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol)'s office. It was attended by 15 companies such as National Aluminium Company (Nalco), NTPC, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL), Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), Apar Industries, Anvil Cables, Gupta Power, Phillips Carbon, IDL Chemicals among others. 

One-to-one meetings were held with companies which had specific issues and the next steps for early resolution were discussed. The meeting was headed by Sanjeev Chopra, principal secretary, industries department. Sanjay Singh, chairman-cum-managing director of Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) along with senior officials drawn from State Level Facilitation Cell (SLFC), Ipicol and Idco.

Commenting on the development, Chopra said, “The department launched this initiative as the need for focused attention on grievance redressal at district level was felt. The objective of this initiative, to be held on a fortnightly basis, is to raise awareness about business reforms and facilitation mechanisms made available by the state government and help address all issues of industries in a streamlined and expeditious manner. This stems from the fact that existing industries are the most critical stakeholders of Odisha’s industrial ecosystem.”

Notably, the department has undertaken a series of business reforms to enhance ease of doing business in the state. These include the launch of Government of Odisha – Single Window for Investor Facilitation and Tracking (GO-SWIFT), consent management system for various applicable environmental Acts for industries made online and synchronized joint inspection for directorate of factories and Boilers, labour directorate and Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB). Besides, there is notable reduction in timeline for tree transit permission from 180 days to 43 days, voluntary compliance scheme for industries and commercial establishments, building plan approval made online and to be provided within 30 days, issuance of e-stamp certificates introduced, grant of registration certificate under professional tax to be provided ordinarily within one day, temporary allocation of water for construction of industries for 6 months is ensured within a period of 30 days from the date of submission of the application among others.

The next meeting on this initiative is scheduled on January 16 with industries from Khurda and Cuttack districts. The companies shall be intimated in this regard by Ipicol in due course.