PM Narendra Modi for cutting reliance on import-based supply chain

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said it was unacceptable that the country exported raw materials and brought in finished products, stressing that value addition must happen here.

  Addressing the gathering at Bhubaneswar’s Janata Maidan, the venue of “Utkarsh Odisha, Make in Odisha Conclave”, which he inaugurated, Modi said India could no longer rely on fragmented, import-based supply chains.

  “In today’s rapidly changing world, there are challenges related to global supply chains. We must create a robust supply and value chain to minimise the impact of global headwinds. This responsibility lies with the government as well as industry,” he said, urging India Inc to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as youth-led startups.

  “The country’s rapid progress cannot rely solely on the export of raw materials. I do not believe in the trend of extracting minerals and sending them abroad for product manufacturing and value addition, only to have those products return to India,” Modi said. The PM said that the government was working to ensure that industries that tied in with Odisha’s resources were established in the state.

  Odisha’s flagship global investors’ summit is in its fourth edition and the first under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-run state government. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the state expected to receive investment proposals three times higher than its target of Rs 5 trillion during the conclave.

  Majhi performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the state’s second semiconductor unit to be set up here at an investment of Rs 2,500 crore.

  Prominent business leaders, including Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal, Aditya Birla group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, JSW Chairman Sajjan Jindal, ITC Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Puri, and JSPL Group Chairman Naveen Jindal, attended the event.

  In a statement, the Avaada group on Tuesday said it had inked an initial pact to invest Rs 20,700 crore to develop renewable energy projects in Odisha. The investment will be utilised for developing 1,500 Mw of floating solar projects, two 1,000 Mw pumped storage projects (PSP) and green energy equipment manufacturing units in the state, the company said.

  The JSW group signed an MoU with the Odisha government to set up a 5 million-tonne per annum steel plant in Keonjhar district at an investment of around Rs 35,000 crore. Asked whether South Korean steel major POSCO is also a part of the proposed Keonjhar project, Jindal said: “It has not yet been decided whether we will go for collaboration with some other firm. It will be decided in the future course.” He said POSCO had evinced an interest in setting up a steel plant in Odisha.

Majhi had earlier said the JSW group and POSCO would jointly set up a green field steel facility in his home district of Keonjhar.

  Jindal Steel & Power said it will invest an additional Rs 70,000 crore in Odisha in the coming years.

  Birla said: “We are a long-term investor in Odisha. We have already invested Rs 50,000 crore in the state and another Rs 50,000 crore will be invested in the coming years.” The company will make investments in aluminium refinery and aluminium smelting, he said.

  In a statement, TV Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director, Tata Steel, said in the last decade the firm had invested around $10 billion in Odisha. “We have not only built a steel plant from scratch in Kalinganagar but also acquired and turned around assets like Neelachal Ispat and Bhushan Steel, contributing to our 11-million tonnes capacity in the state. We expect to add another 10 million tonnes over the next decade,” he said.

  Modi said India’s economic growth was powered by two key pillars: An innovative services sector and the production of high-quality goods. To keep pace with the world’s shifting focus on sustainable lifestyles, Modi said India was prioritising green technologies and a green future, including solar, wind, hydro, and green hydrogen, which would power the energy security of Viksit Bharat (developed India).

  No industry can thrive without adopting new technologies, which require focused research and innovation, the PM said. “We are developing a vibrant research ecosystem and establishing a special fund to support it. A stronger research system, combined with a skilled workforce, will directly benefit industries,” he added.

  Highlighting Odisha’s potential, the PM said it was the ideal destination to understand India, offering centuries-old heritage, history, trust, culture, jungles, mountains, and the sea.

  With a 500-km coastline, 33 per cent forest cover, and abundant ecotourism opportunities, Odisha is ready to welcome the world. “Today, Bharat’s mantra is ‘Wed in India and Heal in India’. Odisha has immense potential to contribute to this vision,” he said, noting India’s potential in conference tourism, as evidenced by New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam. He said the country had great possibilities for a thriving concert economy, with its vast pool of young talent and massive audiences. 

The PM said Odisha had a key role to play in India’s journey to becoming Viksit Bharat 2047. To achieve this, the central government is extending full support to the state.

  “Landlocked regions of India are being rapidly connected to the sea via roadways. We are building a dozen industrial cities equipped with plug-and-play facilities to further boost economic growth,” he said.

  In Odisha, the PM said, similar opportunities were being enhanced. “To reduce logistics costs in Odisha, the state government is connecting ports to industrial clusters. Existing ports are being revamped, and new ones are being developed. This positions Odisha among the top Indian states with a thriving blue economy,” he said.

 

FUNDING BOOST    Avaada Group to invest Rs 20,700 crore to develop renewable energy projects in Odisha

 

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group signs MoU to set up a 5-million tonnes per annum steel plant in Keonjhar district at an investment of Rs 35,000 crore

 

Aditya Birla Group to invest Rs 50,000 crore in aluminium refinery and aluminium smelting

 

Tata Steel to add another 10 million tonnes capacity in the state over the next decade