In recording a disconcerting trend of sorts, Odisha seems falling behind in private investment inflows with year 2017 seeing private investments stumbling down to a new low of mere Rs 6,971 crore.
Odisha, interestingly, had topped the country in private investment inflow till 2013 and in the whole of 11th Plan period (2007-12) with proposed investments worth a whopping around Rs 11.86 lakh crore.
However, till date in 12th plan period, investment proposals have totalled to a mere around Rs 1.58 lakh crore.
Significantly, year 2016 saw a whole hog of efforts by the Odisha Government via business/investment conclaves to recapture investors’ imagination and bring focus back on Odisha. But the year saw actual investment proposals of mere Rs 22,507 crore compared to inflows of Rs 98,723 crore, Rs 28,000 crore and Rs 24,000 crore in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.
According to data with the State Industries Department, including Investor Entrepreneur Memorandums (IEMs) filed in non-MSME category, the year 2017 saw a total of around 31 IEMs filed worth Rs 6,971crore in Odisha vis-a-vis of 36 proposals worth Rs 22, 507crore in 2016, though the investment conclaves in Mumbai, Benguluru and ‘Make in Odisha’ at Bhubaneswar, the State Government had received an investment declarations (not proposals) to the tune of a whopping over Rs 3 lakh crore.
However, total investment proposals the State received via IEMs in 2016 and 2017 together accounted for a mere around 10 per cent of total declarations made during investment conclaves.
Moreover, it was observed that of the 31 IEMs filed in 2017 only around 20 proposals are new investments; whereas in 2016 the total IEMs filed for new units were a mere around 12 from a total of 36 proposals.
Further, a look at the actual proposals being implemented in the State then the statistics looks no more enthusiastic as the implementation rate in 2016 was a mere around 3 per cent of actual proposals, whereas in 2017 the implementation rate looked little better as it touched around 13 per cent.
A detailed analysis of 2017 data reveals that the State has received new proposals in the sectors like food processing (biscuits), animal husbandry (poultry, shrimp), non-renewable energy (solar and wind), cement, furnishings (tiles), metals (aluminium alloy) and breweries (alcohol). Moreover, the new investments have gone mostly to around 10 districts and geographically the districts are from western (Balangir, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi and Sambalpur), northern (Baleswar, Mayurbhanj) and coastal region likes Khurda, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Jajpur. The industrial investment map during the period of 2014 – 2018 shows investment inflow drought in districts like Ganjam, Koraput, Keonjhar, Nuapada, Nabrangpur, Baragarh, Kandhamal, Gajapati etc.
A mix of significant factors play the spoilsport as was identified by country’s leading economic researcher the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
The NCAER’s 2017 investment survey bringsto the fore the State’s fragile investment blips that led to down slope in recent years like high stalling of projects due to land problem, poor availability of labour with secondary education or above, higher economic offences, higher pending cases, low completion rate of IPC and Sll cases by courts and corruption.