Interview Times 
Make in Odisha 2022– the marquee event is happening after a hiatus of two years. The Odisha government under the stewardship of its visionary Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has pledged to make it the grandest spectacle for investors. The first edition of this biennial showpiece event kicked off in 2016. The second one staged in 2018 was even more stunning. But the virulent Covid pandemic dampened spirits in 2020 as the state turned to firefighting mode to tame a deadly virus strain. Though the state officials carried on their engagement with the investor community, the zing was missing. But the euphoria will be back again with the 2022 glittering event, set to wow a vast array of investors.
Make in Odisha is not just another state-sponsored event to pull investments. It has become synonymous with Brand Odisha and its positioning on the global centre stage. Make in Odisha is the epitome of a transforming Odisha characterized by surging industrial growth, plentiful jobs and sustainable development. It’s emblematic of a state’s resounding success underpinned by stable leadership, copious outreach and decisive reforms.
“Today, Odisha is ranked among the top States of India in terms of live manufacturing investments and has been accorded the “achiever” status in the recently released Ease of Doing Business ratings. The Make in Odisha Conclave, 2022 is a platform for our state to showcase our growth story and present what we have to offer to investors across the globe. It is a platform for industry captains and thought leaders to talk about the outlook of various industrial sectors. We must endeavour towards ensuring that Make in Odisha Conclave’22 becomes a landmark event in Odisha’s Industrial Growth Story”, says a beaming CM Naveen Patnaik.
In the run-up to the mega-investment conclave, the CM launched a dedicated portal and mobile app. The make-in Odisha portal is the repository of all information pertaining to the MIO Conclave’22. Delegates can get detailed information on the Plenary Sessions, Thematic Sessions, Business Leadership talks, Sectoral Sessions and detail of the speakers in the portal. Delegates can register themselves for the conclave and book their travel and accommodation during the visit. The mobile app is now available to all users on the Android, Playstore and Apple Appstore.
The Make In Odisha Conclave’22 is the flagship investor summit of the Government of Odisha. After the event’s resounding success in 2016 and 2018, the state is organizing the third edition of the marquee event in Bhubaneswar from November 30 to December 04, 2022. As a build-up to the Make in Odisha Conclave’22, in the last three months, the Hon’ble Chief Minister has led government delegations on roadshows to various metros across Coimbatore, Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad in India as well as in Dubai. The Make in Odisha Conclave’22 is a unique opportunity to understand Odisha’s policy and regulatory environment, and the vast existing and emerging business opportunities across sectors.
Three countries – Japan, Germany and Norway have already agreed to partner in the investment summit being organised in collaboration with FICCI. In view of the response received from overseas investment meets, more countries are expected to join. the entire Janata Maidan spread across 20,000 sq metres will be converted into a modern state-of-the-art event venue with an exhibition centre, a plenary hall, five-session halls, Chief Minister’s lounge, VIP lounge and a grand stage for cultural events besides a dedicated media lounge.
The venue will also have two large anamorphic screens and six pods displaying Odisha’s culture, heritage and industrial prowess. The registration to take part in the conclave has already commenced, he said.
As per the schedule, the chief minister will host a plenary session with CXOs and business leaders from across the country. The plenary session will be followed by a session on ‘Start-Up Odisha’ in the plenary hall and business leadership talks in the sessional halls. On December 2, the session on ‘Skilled-in-Odisha’ will be followed by discussions on ‘Metal Downstream’ in the plenary hall while the session halls will host various sectoral deliberations on chemicals and petrochemicals, textiles and apparel, mining, food processing and IT/ITeS.
Key thematic sessions on women SHGs and school transformation in Odisha will be held on December 3. Simultaneously, sectorial sessions on emerging sectors like biotechnology, circular economy, healthcare and pharma, defence and aviation will be held.
Odisha has transformed drastically over the past two decades under Naveen Patnaik’s leadership. The state is the unspoken El Dorado for investors of all stripes due to its rich repository of mineral wealth, ample water resources, skilled labour force and an enabling regulatory landscape. Events of the scale of Make in Odisha will only cement Odisha’s investor-friendly credentials and propel it on the higher growth curve.
