In order to provide hassle free environment to the industry and business, Odisha Government has unveiled eBiZ Platform, Common Inspection Platform and GOiPlus.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiling the e-initiatives said that the State Government has embarked on bettering governance by leveraging technology in a big way.
The State Government has allocated two per cent of the annual budget of the State for promotion of IT and e-governance in the State to make it citizen and investor friendly.
“The launch of eBiZ platform, a common inspection framework and GOiPlus - a web enabled land information system are some of the initiatives to enable a hassle free business environment in the State, Patnaik said.
“Odisha is the first State in the country to map the Combined Application Form and 14 services on the e-Biz platform,” the Chief Minister said.
“We have launched an online portal for central investment programme. The central inspection framework will make the system fair and help reducing any scope for exploitation or repetition,” Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi told reporters in Mumbai at the ongoing Make in India (MII) Week.
“We have also launched ‘eBiZ’, which is a step ahead of single window system. Under ‘eBiZ’, we will reduce human contact and all clearances will be made online. It will also be utilized for any queries and payments,” he added.
Padhi said instead of making announcements about the number of agreements signed, the State would rather focus on conversion of the agreements into projects at the ground level.
“We have the highest rate of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) getting implemented. Of the 92 MoUs signed, 52 have been converted into projects in the State,” he added.
According to Padhi, Odisha has the advantage of natural minerals along with huge land bank as well as a coastline to attract domestic as well as foreign investors.
“We have 1 lakh acres land available for setting up of industries, of which 10,000 acres can be used immediately,” he said.
The State is also planning to develop a defence and aerospace park in Gopalpur.
“We have Sure Safety Solutions (SSS), a Mumbai-based firm in collaboration with UK-based Meggitt Defence Systems setting up a defence unit for manufacturing of aerial target systems in the Special Economic Zone.
“We are trying to get more companies to invest in Gopalpur so that we can develop a defence and aerospace park. It can either be inside the existing SEZ or outside,” he said.
The State is also planning to come up with a start-up policy to encourage entrepreneurs and new businesses.
“We will be announcing a start-up policy in another 3-4 months that will encourage entrepreneurs in the State to set up business,” he said.
Odisha has undertaken several inspection related reforms, primary one being the setting up of a Central Inspection Framework (CIF). The CIF was created to address the common complaints about ambiguity, duplication and overlapping mandates between inspection authorities, and perceived lack of co-operation and co-ordination. Through CIF, the Government eliminates the process of multiple visits to the same enterprises and synchronizes various inspections. This framework aims to achieve the objective of simplifying business regulations and bring in transparency and accountability in inspections.
The Government has constituted the Central Inspection Co-ordination Group (CICG) which co-ordinates the inspection related activities for all the listed enterprises. CSM Technologies, one of the best IT Majors of Eastern India, has been roped in for such initiatives. CSM is a pioneer in providing IT consulting services, which has been lauded for its citizen centric applications and solutions.