Orissa investment basket at Rs 12 lakh cr, says Assocham

Continuing its investor friendly momentum, Orissa has attracted investments worth Rs 12.08 lakh crore across sectors till the end of 2011, grabbing 10.04 per cent share of the overall investment pie standing at Rs 120.34 lakh crore.

Latest data by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) show Orissa lags only three states- Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh which have wrested the top three slots in luring investors.

While Gujarat has emerged as the numero uno state, bagging investments to the tune of Rs 16.28 lakh crore, Maharashtra is at the second slot, drawing investment of Rs 14.13 lakh crore. Neighboring Andhra Pradesh leads Orissa by a slender margin with investment proposals of Rs 12.09 lakh crore in its kitty.

“Out of the 20 industrial states, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Karnataka have clearly emerged as the preferred investment destinations by attracting 53.56 per cent of the total live investments,” said D S Rawat, national secretary general of Assocham.

Of the overall investments that have flowed to different states, Orissa leads the pack with top slots in manufacturing and mining sectors with a share of 17.5 per cent and 31.2 per cent respectively of the total investments.

In electricity sector, Orissa with a share of 11.3 per cent is next only to Gujarat. The state has clocked 3.4 per cent share in services sector and two per cent in irrigation while its meagre share of 0.7 per cent in the real sector is among the lowest of the 20 states surveyed by Assocham. Of its own investment basket of Rs 12.08 lakh crore, manufacturing is the top draw with a whopping share of 44.2 per cent, drawing parallels with neighbouring states like Jharkhand and West Bengal where manufacturing has been the key investment driver as well, accounting for 63.1 per cent share and 43.1 per cent share respectively.

Electricity is the next biggest contributor to Orissa's investment portfolio with a share of 40.4 per cent followed by services at 7.4 per cent and mining sector at 6.5 per cent. The state's residual investment basket is filled by sectors like irrigation and real estate with a share of 0.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.