Setback for Patnaik govt as CII pulls out from Make in Odisha 2.0

The state government's grand plan to host the second edition of its 'Make in Odisha', its biennial showpiece conclave for investments, has suffered a setback with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) pulling out of the show as industry partner.

In a related development, top brass of CII's Odisha chapter- its chairman Arun Misra, managing director of Tata Steel SEZ Ltd and its vice chairman Subrat Tripathy, also the chief executive officer of Dhamra Port Company Ltd (DPCL) tendered their resignations.

The state government was apparently peeved at the CII's offer of partial engagement for the conclave. CII, in a communication with the state industries department, cited it had a packed schedule for the year and the dates frozen for the Make in Odisha conclave clashed with a major national summit hosted by the industry body.

The second edition of the Make in Odisha conclave is to be held from November 11-15 this year. The dates were announced a year ahead by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on November 16, 2017. Since then. The state government has firmed up the composition of events and various promotion activities leading to the hosting of the event. Invitations have also been sent to various industry leaders to grace the occasion. The preparatory activities are being overseen by a committee chaired by the chief secretary with members from concerned departments.

A state government release said the state government has been engaging with various stakeholders including CII to discuss the modalities of organizing the event. In February 2018, CII has shared draft conditions of partnership and a list of proposed CII coordinators for various committees to organize the various events as well as the proposed budget. CII has been working until recently with the state government officials towards planning for the event. 

"On April 4, 2018, CII, represented by Chairman, CII State Council, has informed the industries department regarding its inability to partner for the conclave in view of prior engagements during the proposed dates of the conclave. The response of CII is particularly disappointing keeping in view the fact that in 2015, the Odisha government designated CII as the Industry Partner for all investment promotion activities”, the release added.

CII's offer has not gone down well with the government authorities in Odisha. “CII's proposal of partial engagement for the Make in Odisha conclave is not agreeable to us. This is a showpiece event for us. In the absence of CII, we would look for engagement with other industry bodies”, said a source close to the development.

CII had partnered the Odisha government at the inaugural edition of 'Make in Odisha' conclave organised between November 30 and December 2, 2016. At the summit, Odisha pulled fresh investments valued at Rs 2.03 trillion. Along with the Make in Odisha event and the roadshows the state government staged in Mumbai and Bengaluru, the state drew 124 investment intents. More than 60 per cent of the investment proposals are in various stages of approval or implementation.