Odisha, home to large mineral resources, has got the potential to become a manufacturing hub in the eastern region of the country and its capital Bhubaneswar would be a knowledge centre, said Union Commerce and Transport Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Friday.
She told reporters at the BJP State office here that the Centre looks forward to make Bhubaneswar a knowledge centre for skill development in the Kolkata-Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor announced in the Union Government’s new industrial policy.
She said the Modi Government has emphasised on development on manufacturing industries which would create large employment opportunities and GDP growth. A 40-per cent of the GSDP component of Odisha comes from the manufacturing industries and it needs to be boosted further, she observed.
Sitharaman called upon BJP members and social workers to popularise the Prime Minister Jan-Dhan Yojana among rural people. Under this scheme, beneficiaries would get overdraft facilities, financial support and insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh, she informed.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan viewed that Odisha would gain a lot from the Central Government’s decision to enhance the mining royalty. Beautifications of the Konark Temple would be completed before the Nabakalebar of lord Jagannath for which Rs 36 crore has been allocated from the Indian Oil Foundation.
Responding to a query on the proposed IIM’s location, Pradhan said the State Government would have to give a list of three places, out of which one would be finalised jointly by the Centre and the State.