Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday said an industrial park exclusively for women entrepreneurs would be set up in the state.
An announcement to this effect was made by Majhi while he was speaking at the “Women Business Leaders Round Table” on the concluding day of the “Utkarsh Odisha — Make in Odisha conclave” here on Wednesday.
Besides the industrial park, the state government will set up a dedicated cell for women entrepreneurs at the Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL).
Majhi said: “By establishing this park, we are working towards a more inclusive industrial environment in Odisha.”
He said that ₹75,623 crore, or around 28.5 per cent of the state budget, has been earmarked for women’s development.
The chief minister said that he was hopeful that these two measures will encourage women to start business independently. He also sought suggestions from women business leaders on how to further raise women’s participation in business.
He also cited the successful implementation of the Subhadra scheme, under which ₹5000 each was given to nearly 80 lakh women. He added that the financial assistance has helped women start small businesses.
Majhi called upon the women of the state to join the government’s effort to make Odisha a developed state by 2036. The state aims to provide easier access to markets and capital for women entrepreneurs, breaking down barriers traditionally faced by them.
The state government has noticed that small-scale businesses and even farming is done by women in tribal and rural parts of the state. Through Mission Shakti, the women across the state have successfully established themselves as successful entrepreneurs. Mission Shakti once created a vote bank for the Naveen Patnaik government.
Birupakshya Tripathy, the editor of a local vernacular newspaper, said: “The Mohan Majhi government wants to break that and try to create a vote bank for itself among women. It has also been noticed that private cooperative banks exploit women entrepreneurs by giving them loans at a higher rate and taking away most of
their profits.”
Investments
BJP chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday claimed that the Utkarsh Odisha conclave-2025 had drawn investment proposals worth ₹16.73 lakh crore.
Addressing mediapersons here, Majhi said that as many 145 MoUs totalling investment to the tune of ₹12.89 lakh crore had been signed during the biennial event, which started in 2016 during the previous BJD government’s reign.
Investment intents worth ₹3.84 lakh crore had been received during the conclave which was attended by a battery of industrialists from India as well 16 other countries.
“In total, we have received proposals worth ₹16.73 lakh crore for 593 projects in 20 sectors including chemicals, petrochemicals, mining, metallurgy, IT, tourism, textiles, renewable energy and food processing,” the chief minister said adding that the projects will create job opportunities for 12.88 lakh people.
Majhi’s statements came in the wake of rival Biju Janata Dal’s claim that during its rule three Make in Odisha conclaves were held and they drew investment proposals worth ₹16 lakh crore.
“Our chief minister Naveen Patnaik had created a favourable industrial eco-system in the state which encouraged industrialists,” said former skill development minister and BJD leader Pritiranjan Ghadai, adding that the present BJP government had not been able to carry forward the good work done by the BJD government in the field of industrialisation.
