Manufacturing industries in Odisha are seemingly in dire straits. Dipping profits and falling net production are set to abort the State’s purported take-off on ‘Make in India’ turf. Production in manufacturing industries or Net Value Added (NVA) has shown a decline for two consecutive years. The shocker is profits earned by the manufacturing units in Odisha have almost halved in a period of four years. Axe consequently has fallen on job-creation with factories showing no new intakes.
Such prevailing frailties in State’s manufacturing sector have come to fore in recently released Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) report by Centre for Statistical Organisation (CSO). The CSO conducted this nationwide survey in 2014 by taking into account manufacturing industries for the year ended on March 31, 2013. The report reveals a fall in net production value in State’s manufacturing industries as it shows the NVA dipping in 2012 – 13 to Rs17,941.34 crore from Rs18,204.76 crore in 2011 – 12. Cumulative profits of around 2,854 factories in Odisha have almost halved to Rs4,959.94 crore in 2012-13 from Rs8,269.69 crore in 2009-10. A dip of over 20, 000 in total persons employed was also recorded in the factories in 2012-13.
Capital investments by manufacturing industries too slowed down in Odisha as the gross capital formation has dropped to mere Rs721 crore in 2012-13 from Rs7,721 crore in 2011-12. These pitfalls saw Odisha tripping further to 16th position nationally in the indicator of net productivity or NVA to the country’s manufacturing growth in 12-13 from 15th slot in 2010-11. Advanced estimates of 2014-15 show further fall in manufacturing sector’s contribution to GSDP.
Odisha also fared poorer comparably to nearest competitors – Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The net productivity of manufacturing industries in both States recorded significant jump in 2012-13.
Chhattisgarh saw new jobs for over 50,000 persons in 2012-13 against a squeeze in Od\isha. Significantly, total profits earned by factories in both States saw a quantum leap by around Rs1,700 – Rs3,000 crore against a whopping fall by Rs900 crore in Odisha in 2012-13. In wages per worker indicator, Jharkhand is far ahead and Chhattisgarh on a par with Odisha. However, a labour Bureau study brings to fore subtle differences. A production worker in Odisha on an average receives around Rs9,700 per month against Rs12,000 in Jharkhand. The emoluments per month to a supporting staff hover at around Rs14,000 here against over Rs16,400 in Chhattisgarh.
Wide variations were recorded in other vital parameters. The net productivity per factory in operation in Odisha is Rs733 lakh, which is less than Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Output per person engaged in Odisha is Rs42 lakh that is again lower than both. Odisha falls behind even in net productivity per person. Besides, Odisha has only 0.7 per cent big manufacturing units employing over 5,000 against 2.8 and 1.22 per cent in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand respectively. Almost a half (48 per cent) of manufacturing factories in Odisha employ below 15 persons indicating overwhelming of small sized entities.