4812 large and medium units come up in Orissa in 2008-09

Orissa, going through the phase of rapid industrialization over the past couple of years, witnessed setting up of 4812 industrial units in the state during the last fiscal alone. This includes 6 large units and 4806 small scale sector industries.

Combinedly, these industries provide direct and indirect employment to 24,922 persons, industries minister, Raghunath Mohanty told the state Assembly. Large units which were commissioned in 2008-09 included OCL (India) Ltd located at Mania, MSP Metalliks Ltd ( Markutta, Jharsuguda), Action Ispat and Power Private Ltd (Jharsuguda), Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (Jharsuguda), Aryan Iron and Steel (P) Ltd (Barbil, Keonjhar), Rathi Steel and Power Ltd (Pottapalli, Sambalpur). The combined investment of these industries was Rs 6250.85 crore creating 3926 jobs.

Similarly, 4806 small scale units were established during the last fiscal against the target of 5000. The investment made in these units was Rs 227.93 crore compared to the target of Rs 300 crore. Jobs created for 20,996 persons by the small scale units also fell short of the target of 30,000 set by the government for this sector.

The industries minister said, highest number of small scale units came up in Khurda district (2037), which was followed by Cuttack district (1816). While 1589 units were established in Sundergarh district, 1339 units came up in Bolangir district.

The minister said, there is no special package for revival of the defaulting sick medium and small industries. The empowered committee constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), State Level Inter Institutional Committee (SLIIC) and Sub-SLIIC instruct various financial institutions for revival of the sick units.

On the other hand, the production of Konark jute mill located in Dhanmandal has declined due to a large number of workers opting for voluntary retirement under different schemes.