By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, July 15, 2018: Odisha, which few years back was the top destination for investment, seems to be losing out to other states due to bureaucratic apathy and red tapism.

Odisha’s rank slipped down to the 14th position at the latest ‘Ease of Doing Business’ (EODB) ratings. Andhra Pradesh is the top ranked state with a score of 98.42 per cent whereas Odisha attained 92.09 per cent. Out of the 372 reforms enlisted in Business Reforms Action Plan, 2017 (BRAP) assessment by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), government of India, the state has implemented majority of the ‘Evidence’ based reforms, which has led to a compliance of 97.83 per cent.

States scoring beyond 95 per cent have been categorised as ‘top achievers’. Those with scores in the band of 90-95 have been clustered in the ‘achievers’ category.

From seventh in 2016 to 11th in 2017 and descending again to 14th in the survey released in 2018, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s dream of making Odisha one of the top three favoured destination for investment remains still a far cry.

“There is a need for introspection by all the stakeholders. It is a matter of concern that the state which ranked seventh at one point of time which further nosedived to 11 and now 14. This will definitely have an impact at the ensuing Make in Odisha summit,” President of Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) said Ramesh Mohapatra on Sunday told Bizodisha.com.

However, officials don’t foresee any negative impact of the latest rankings on investor sentiment for the upcoming Make in Odisha Conclave 2018 and concede that there is scope to improve on ground implementation of business reforms

Odisha has undertaken multi-pronged initiatives to enhance investment promotion preparedness including institutionalization of State Level Facilitation Cell, appointment of sector-specific nodal officers to handhold investors, identification of six focus sectors, regular domestic and international investor outreach through roadshows and a focused approach to facilitating investments through technology-enabled interventions like GO-SWIFT.

But with the competition among the states to woo investment growing like never before, the state government needs to be more pro-active and investor friendly, experts said.