By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, January 25, 2020: Odisha is rated the second best in overall development, next only to Uttar Pradesh, according to a recent Niti Aayog report.

Odisha is the second fastest mover state with a score of 58. 2019 witnessed Odisha gaining nine points as its score moved up from 51 in 2018. The northern state drastically improved its score from 42 in 2018 to 55 in 2019 with the goal of affordable and clean energy driving the surge in rankings.

Odisha government has facilitated industrial infrastructure and reduction of carbon footprint through distribution of LED bulbs, which appear to have helped the state climb up the rankings of Niti Aayog’s Index.

The states were appraised on the basis of efforts made to achieving the mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

For Odisha, the ninth SDG goal defined by industry, infrastructure and innovation has contributed the most to the elevation in ranking.

The state government’s most talked about reforms is the unveiling of GO-SWIFT, i.e Single Window Investor Facilitation & Tracking. This portal is a one-stop solution to all of investor woes- it tracks the entire life cycle of a virgin project from conception to implementation and beyond. The GO-SWIFT portal has received more than 1000 investment proposals in two years of its launch.

A first-of-its-kind in the country, GO-SWIFT provides information on business reforms and policy initiatives. The investor dashboard on the portal allows users to track the real-time status of their application and get alerts via SMS and email. GO-SWIFT also has a department dashboard for senior government officials to use and track the industrial units in the state.

Besides, the state government has created a land bank of more than 1.5 lakh s of land for use of industrial projects. This initiative has eased the allotment of land to new industries which has been historically beset with resistance and consequential delay.

The NITI Aayog study has also acknowledged the strides made by Odisha in the areas of poverty, health, quality education, gender equality, water sanitation and economic growth. In 2019, Odisha has accomplished substantive success in making a success out of the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan” and eliminating open defecation. More number of households especially in rural Odisha got access to LPG courtesy Ujjwala scheme.