CII proposes joint task force on agriculture

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), one of the premier industry bodies in the country, has proposed to set up a joint task force on agriculture with the Orissa government.

The task force, to be headed by the state agriculture minister Damodar Rout, is aimed at working towards synergizing the efforts of the government and the private sector to attain the desired agricultural growth.

A delegation of 27 top corporate leaders of the eastern region under the banner of CII today called on the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and presented a ten-point agenda.

"We had discussions with the Chief Minister and presented a ten-point agenda of the CII. Our agenda includes setting up of a task force on agriculture, setting up a skill centre at Balasore, taking up the Green Bhubaneswar project and setting up an Intellectual Property cell in Bhubaneswar”, Kurush Grant, chairman of CII's eastern region and director of ITC Ltd told reporters after emerging out of the meeting with the Chief Minister.

CII has proposed to set up two skill centres in the eastern region-one in Balasore and Murshidabad (West Bengal). Work has already started in setting up the skill centre in Balasore. The skill centre would be a partnership between CII, Balasore Alloys and IndiaCan. CII will act as a catalyst for industry linkages and oversee the project.

The traits identified for the Balasore skill centre are retail, healthcare, sales, hospitality, gardening and driving. This skill centre is expected to be operational by early next year.

CII is also keen to take up the Green Bhubaneswar project.

The industry body has already prepared the project proposal and submitted the same to the department of housing & urban development. The project would create unique water conservation techniques in the city, create 'Rain Homes' with unique rain water harvesting methods for households and industries, and increase green aesthetic look through creation of Green Shelters.

Besides, CII has also proposed to set up an Intellectual Property (IP) facilitation cell in Bhubaneswar.

The IP facilitation cell would be a collaborative model between the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India, CII and the Orissa government.

CII has successfully executed this concept in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.