Odisha seeks details of ease of doing biz ranking

Odisha government has asked the Central government to share the details of the ease of doing business ranking, after it found a fall in its score.

The state has slipped three places down from 11 to 14 in the ease of doing business ranking recently.

According to the state government official, the state wanted to work over it and improve in areas that it is lacking in.

Speaking on the sidelines of the roadshow for ‘Make in Odisha Conclave 2018’, Sanjeev Chopra, principal secretary, Odisha government, said, “We have written to the Government of India to get the feedback on the same. We have asked the government to share with us all the details and once it is shared we will understand the feedback and take the corrective action.”

He added that the state got 90 per cent compliance in physical notification, but got lower assessment on feedback. The feedback component in easy of doing business was recently introduced.

When asked about the approach of the government over environmental concerns, he said, “The state government has no intention to push for any project at the cost for the environment.”

Citing an example of Odisha government’s tourism project, Shamuka which is still struggling to get the needed approvals, the official feels that it will be the big development this country has seen for a long time. He reiterated, “We are trying to clarify as many queries as possible if there are any coming from the authorities.”

Chopra stated that government is not pushing for the project among the private sector, but will wait for approvals. “We can only market that place properly once we get all the approvals in place. There are a lot of queries for the project,” he stated.

Commenting about the Gas Authority of India Limited’s (GAIL) activity in the state, Chopra said, “That is going on track and that is one area that will give big fillip to the industrial activity in the region. This will allow the industries to use gas instead of electricity for their power requirement.

The official was in the city for the latest edition of the roadshow for ‘Make in Odisha Conclave 2018’. During the inaugural edition of the conclave, organised in 2016, investment plans to the tune of Rs 2.03 lakh crore were announced by the industry. Business leaders from over 300 leading companies participated in the roadshow to explore growth opportunities across Odisha's focus sectors - food processing and seafood, ancillary and downstream industries in the metals sector, textiles, ESDM (electronic system design and manufacturing), chemicals, plastics and petrochemicals and tourism, a release claimed.

Subsequent to the Make in Odisha Conclave 2016, the first ground-breaking ceremony was held in November 2017 for 15 manufacturing units which grounded investments worth Rs 11,690 crore with scope to generate 8,187 jobs. The second ground breaking ceremony in June 2018 witnessed the inauguration of seven manufacturing units and ground breaking of 12 units with cumulative investment grounded at Rs 2,675 crore. This will create 8,953 jobs.

Odisha has registered a GSDP growth rate of 7.94 percent in 2016-17, surpassing the national growth rate of 7.1 percent.