Odisha to get a radical makeover

The policy is aimed at attracting fresh investments through fundings and interest subsidies for development of world-class tourism products and infrastructure. The new policy will definitely bring a makeover to the state.

TT BUREAU The

new tourism policy of the Odisha government has divided the state into three zones for administration of incentive schemes. Zone ‘A’ comprises of the municipal corporation area of Bhubaneswar, while Zone ‘B’ includes rest of the state except KBK (KalahandiBolangir-Koraput), Kandhamal and Gajapati districts. The Zone C comprises KBK, Kandhamal and Gajapati dictricts.

Setting up of any tourism projects in Zone A will get capital investment subsidy of 20 per cent, maximum up to 20 lakh, for investments ranging from

10 lakh to 20 crore. For investment of 20 crore and above the subsidy is 25 per cent (maximum up to

30 lakh).

In Zone B, the policy offers 25 per cent subsidy with a ceiling of 25 lakh on the projects worth between

10 lakh and 20 crore and for investment above 20 crore, the subsidy is 30 per cent with a ceiling of 35 lakh. In Zone C, there is 30 per cent subsidy on capital investment offered with a ceiling of 30 lakh for a proj- ect within the range of 10 lakh to 20 crore while the subsidy for investments above 20 crore is fixed at 35 per cent with a cap of

40 lakh. Two months earlier, the state Cabinet approved the much-delayed policy for the tourism sector, a move that is expected to boost the tourist inflow and pump new investments in the sector. The policy’s objective is to position Odisha as the most preferred tourist destination and place it prominently on the domestic and international tourism map. The focus will be on employment generation and promoting small and medium enterprises.