The ‘Make in Odisha Conclave 2018’ billed as one of the largest investment summit, opened to the public with inaugural exhibitions by numerous major corporations here in the presence of CM Naveen Patnaik, several dignitaries like Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu and others.

Formally opening the Expo, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik spoke on how Odisha had transformed over the last two decades to be an Industrial powerhouse.

“Who thought Odisha will play a major role in our country’s food security, Who thought Odisha will set global standards in disaster management who thought Odisha will top the Smart City Challenge in the country and who thought Odisha will be noticed for lifting the maximum number of people above poverty?” he noted.

The message was clear – Odisha has marched ahead and set global imprints. “ Come, join us to be a part of this transformation”, he said.

The Expo focuses on showcasing industrial prowess of the State, with most of the industries operating in the state displaying their success stories of making in Odisha. Odisha, the land acknowledged for its exquisite art and craft, is now contributing to the growth of the nation through its skilled workforce.

“As the delegates assemble here from across the globe, during the next four days, I welcome you to discover the enormous business and growth opportunities that the State offers, and also the all-round development that the State has seen in the past two decades”, he said.

The inauguration ceremony was followed by an evening of spectacular cultural performances involving 200 artists, 50 technicians to bring alive the dreams of Odisha through the mission Make in Odisha.

The performances were choreographed by nationally acclaimed choreographer Padmashree Aruna Mohanty along with Janardhan Raj Urs and Md. Saiful Haque. Agnimitra Behera and Pravin D Rao composed the music of the expo performances.

The exposition included stalls with various interesting aspects from various business domains, which included participation from major organisations like Adani Group, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Limited, Britannia Industries Limited, Emami Paper Mills Ltd., Grasim Industries Ltd., Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Indo Nissin Food Private Ltd., ITC Limited, Jindal Stainless Limited, JSW Group, Parle Agro Pvt. Limited, Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel Ltd., Ultratech Cement, Vedanta Limited, are among many others.

The expo features around 120 exhibitors from organisations across various industries.

The highlight of the expo event was the Odisha Theme pavilion named “Deomali” with mesmerising projections on the geodesic dome.

This dome was being constructed for the first time in India and projected the focus sectors and prominent tourism locations in the state. Besides these, there was ample usage of cutting-edge technologies like “kinetic installation” wherein the visitors visited the synchronised beauty of 108 spheres.

Earlier during the day, a set of activities like 5km coastal Fun Run, Heritage Walk, Golf tournament and a tour of Kala Bhoomi was organised.

The event started at dawn break with a 5km coastal fun run along the serene coast of Odisha from Konark temple to Ramachandi boat club along Chandrabhaga beach. More than 200 participants, including various business persons, officials and students took part.

The heritage walk took the participants through history showcasing the ancient and historically significant temples.

A Golf Tournament at Bhubaneswar Golf Club. Some of the industry captains playing golf were from Tata Steel, Adani Group, Dalmia Cements, Toyota, Indian Railways, Paradip Port Trust Acrux and others.

The CM also addressed FICCI members and sought its support. FICCI president-elect Mr Sandip Somany assured all support from FICCI in the development of the State. FICCI is partnering Odisha in the Make in Odisha Conclave.

Oppositions dub Make in Odisha Conclave as a political stunt

Opposition Congress and BJP on Sunday dubbed the mega Make in Odisha Conclave as a political stunt, ‘Making Naveen,’ who had misruled the state for 19 years and is rapidly losing ground.

Be it the mega shows ~ Make in Odisha or the World Cup Hockey ~ it is all an effort to brand Naveen and do a makeover to gloss over failures and deflect public attention, charged the opposition.

In separate reactions to the event, the two major opposition parties said existing industries in the state are facing innumerable problems , several mega projects have been shelved and local youths remain unemployed.

The state has slipped badly in the ease of doing business over the years, they noted.

The Congress said the first make in Odisha in 2016 did not yield much investment and now this one is an election year effort to refurbish the image of Naveen Patnaik.

They will sign a few MoU’s, garner funds for elections and that’s all, chided the Congress. The BJP too cited unemployment figures and the drop in ease of business rankings to criticise the event.

The ruling BJD hit back saying the BJP should be the last to criticise as it is the master is art of deception and branding Modi. The nation knows all about branding Modi and the mega shows that he organises, quipped the BJD. What about Vibrant Gujarat shows , it countered.

Each state is competing in attracting investments, do these people want Odisha to sit quiet and let investments go to other states , countered the BJD. The BJP said it was mean on the part of the CM not to invite central ministers to the function. Not a single Union Minister has been called , said the BJP.