By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, January 23, 2020: In a bid to woo potential investors to Odisha, the Naveen Patnaik led government has begun hard selling the state in the run up to the third edition of ‘Make in Odisha’ (MIO).

The biennial investment conclave is scheduled from November 30 to December 4 this year.

A delegation of top state officials led by industries minister Dibya Shankar Mishra hosted an investor roadshow at Bengaluru sometime back where over 25 companies across sectors participated at the event.

Mishra highlighted Odisha’s strength in the availability of skilled manpower and the lowest cost of doing business in the state. “The cost of doing business in the state is one of the lowest in the country. We are also offering proactive, stable and transparent governance”, he said.

Hemant Sharma, secretary (industries & MSME); Sanjay Singh, secretary (information & public relations) and chairman & managing director of Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) and Nitin Bhanudas Jawale, managing director at Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol) held one-on-one meetings with representatives of 20 companies. The companies were across sectors such as food processing, auto components, apparel, metal downstream, plastics & petrochemicals and aerospace & defence.

In the first two editions of MIO, Odisha had attracted investments worth over Rs 6.4 lakh crore. Of this, projects valued at Rs 2.43 lakh crore have got the approval of the state authorities. The state has received a total of 1164 investment intents. The combined employment potential from the two conclaves stands at 722,000.

Of late, the state has engaged foreign investors from Japan, Korea, Germany, UAE, Saudia Arabia, USA and Singapore. In September 2019, a delegation of the Republic of Korea with officials drawn from top corporations like Samsung Electronics, Samsung India, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors as well as representatives from Korea International Trade Association, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, Korea Plus and Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency had visited Odisha.