He is a no-nonsense and down-to-business first generation entrepreneur. A chemical engineer, he began his career at Rallis India as area sales officer promoting sales of fertilisers and pesticides in western Odisha. He then joined as a management trainee in the Ipicol, where he got exposed to the nuances of development banking. After working at Chennai as a Project Manager in Cholamandalam Fibres for quite some years, he launched his own enterprise, Cholamandalam Nets, which is now changed to Magnum Polymers in Bhubaneswar.
Today he presides over a number of industries from seafood export to aquaculture, contract prawn farming, feed and pesticide distribution, ice plant and pre-processing plant, high-density polyethylene pipe, polypropylene ropes to medical transcription and real estate.
He was elected as president of the Utkal Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) in 2010 and 2012. Meet Ramesh Mahapatra (65) in an interview with Nageshwar Patnaik.
Odisha is rich, but Odias are poor. How do you look at this paradox, and what needs to be done for the State’s image makeoverIJ
Indeed, Odisha is rich under the ground, but we are poor above the ground. We do not have a visionary leader who can lift the State from the present morass. Frequent natural disasters, poor infrastructure, neglected social sector and, above all, general despondency among the denizens impede the development process. Worse still is the alleged involvement of some important leaders in various scams and corrupt practices. There is also dearth of capital and entrepreneurship. All these factors block capital formation in the State and slow pace of industrialisation. Besides, Odisha has not adopted modern methods of farming for which the State has to import most food products barring rice. The approach of the top echelon of the State Government towards the industrial community is very positive. But the weak link is the approach of middle level and low level officials. They need to be trained and motivated to be positive and help grow enterprises and particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
What are some of the crucial aspects of policy engagement with Government for the industrial development, particularly in the MSME sectorIJ
Fundamental to the growth of enterprise is the ease of doing business and fast clearances of projects. A conducive industrial policy draft providing higher incentives to employment intensive industries should be brought to the public domain by the Government for proper discussion among all stakeholders. The policy should ensure greater linkages of small and medium enterprises with large industries through development of ancillary and downstream units. By developing special industrial parks, the Government can boost the MSME sector’s growth. The Government should work with the 4Cs: convergence, coordination, cohesion and concerted efforts.
What are the roadblocks you see to the development in the next couple of yearsIJ
Redtapism and Babu culture. I sincerely believe the primary task before the Government is to ensure ease of doing business in a transparent manner so that people will be interested in starting their own business. Needless to say, infrastructure development is key to the State’s overall progress. Even today, the Idco doesn’t have many industrial estates in and around major cities like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Baleswar, Rourkela, Brahmapur, etc. Single window should truly be single window and should not lead to many doors. The budgetary provision for industry and MSME department is very low and needs to be hiked.
Some big ticket projects, like Posco, Vedanta, Mittal are in trouble. Even the steel manufacturing units are not in good shape. Do you see any hope in the coming yearsIJ
Yes, there is a hope that big projects and manufacturing units will be in good shape as the Government has started allocating mines and renewing them. But emphasis on MSME is important as it contributes 45 per cent of the total industrial output and 40 per cent of export and employs 7.3 crore people in the country. Odisha is expected to soon come out with a progressive and attractive IPR and MSME development policy improving upon the deficiencies in the present MSME Development Policy, 2009 and IPR-2007. The draft policies should be placed in the public domain.
What are your plans as one of the longest serving UCCI presidentsIJ
The longest serving president is late Sukumar Sen, who served the UCCI for nine years. I am humbled by the popular mandate making me the president for a third time. My priority as before would be to work for the development of trade, commerce and industries. Serving the society through proactive initiatives and further socioeconomic and cultural causes, providing proper analytical inputs for policy guidelines, coordinating with the Government for smooth implementation of the policies is my motto.
What are the industry expectations from the State GovernmentIJ
Atmosphere of trust, quick decisions and clearances, respect from bureaucracy, as industries create wealth and employment and generate revenues. Odia youths are interested to begin their careers as entrepreneurs.
How can they be drawn to launch firms on their ownIJ
It is not true that Odias generally prefer jobs than to be an entrepreneur. Youths in our State are keen to start own enterprises. Industry bodies like the UCCI have an important role to play. The Government and association can join hands to motivate engineering and management graduates to start their own enterprises, and the youths in colleges should be educated about the various schemes and incentives of the Government.
You have been an entrepreneur for long years. Can you share your sweet and bitter memories in charting out this careerIJ
To survive as an entrepreneur in Odisha is definitely a tough job. Instead of brooding, one must accept the follies of the system and try to overcome them. Also, an entrepreneur should be prepared for bureaucratic hurdles and delays in various clearances.
What, in your view, are some of the key sectors in terms of global expansion for Odisha-based firmsIJ
Some of the important sectors where Odisha firms can best expand are agro and food processing, particularly seafood processing, IT and ITES, metallurgical and mineral products and even downstream products of various products like cables, conductors, etc.
Prime Minister Modi is giving a big push to ‘Make In India’ movement. Can Odisha position itself to take leaf to start a ‘Make in Odisha’ campaignIJ
Yes. It can be done by providing conducive environment for industries, particularly with emphasis on ease of doing business.