46 out of 92 MoU units start production in Odisha

Sesa Sterlite, GMR Kamalanga and Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd have begun commercial production

Forty six out of the 92 units that have signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Odisha government, have commenced either partial or full scale production.

"The industries that have started partial or full operations have invested Rs 2.53 lakh crore, generating employment for 152,398 people in the state", industries minister Debi Prasad Mishra informed the Odisha Legislative Assembly through a written reply.

The operational industries have recruited 101,147 persons from the state and the rest from elsewhere.

From 2004, the Odisha government has signed MoUs with 92 companies across sectors like steel, aluminium, cement, thermal power, downstream, auto components and petrochemicals. The combined investment intention by these companies stands at Rs 5.68 lakh crore.

Bulk of the investments have flown from the steel sector. With 48 MoUs, steel sector leads the pack of investors. As many as 33 steel units have already started partial or full scale production, investing around Rs 1.3 lakh crore, creating capacity of nearly 15 million tonne. Tata Steel, Bhushan Steel and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) have been the major investors.

In the power sector, independent power producers (IPPs) have invested around Rs 40,000 crore. The state government has inked MoUs with 28 IPPs, envisaging a total production capacity of around 37,500 Mw with proposed investment of over Rs 1 lakh crore. Three IPPs- Vedanta Group firm Sesa Sterlite, GMR Kamalanga and Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd (JITPL) have begun commercial production.