Bhubaneswar:Government of Odisha’s Single Window for Investor Facilitation and Tracking (GO-SWIFT) has received a very encouraging response from investors across the country. Launched in November 2017 by the Hon’ble CM Sri Naveen Patnaik, the portal recently received 200th proposal from Mumbai-based Hind Aluminum Industries which has committed to invest INR 56.3 Crore at Angul Aluminum Park to set up a unit to manufacture40,000 MT of aluminium conductors. The project will create employment opportunities for 200 people.
The project proposals submitted on GO SWIFT to set up manufacturing units envisage a cumulative investment commitment ofINR 1060 Crore with an employment potential of over 10,500.The investment proposals belong to a variety of sectors ranging from food processing, seafood, aluminum downstream, apparel, cement, tourism etc.When compared to the 6-month period prior to the launch of GO-SWIFT, the number of investment proposals received post launch has gone up by 37%.
Commenting on the development, Sri Sanjeev Chopra, Principal Secretary (Industries), Government of Odisha said, “We are committed to ensuring investor delight and it is highly encouraging to note that within a short span of 6 months, GO-SWIFT has received over 200 investment proposals from investors across the country. Due to the significant ease of application and expeditious approval process, there has been a considerable increase in the number of investors wanting to set up their business in the state. We will continue to raise the bar for ease of doing business and are focused on speedy implementation of investment proposals on the ground.”
Some of the leading companies whose proposals were received and approved by State Level Single Window Clearance Authority in the last 6 months include Manpasand Beverages, ITC Foods,Apar Industries Limited, Sri Malani Foams (a company from the house of Century brand of mattresses), Vedanta, Lalchand Resorts among others.
GO-SWIFT has seamlessly integrated all existing technological applications of the Department of Industries via the Single-Sign on Framework and covers all aspects of B2G interface during the investment life cycle. As a result, an industrial unit can get customized information regarding incentives and requisite approvals about the proposed investment, select land, apply for single window clearance, obtain land and other utilities, get statutory clearances, take advantage of risk-based synchronized inspections by regulatory agencies, obtain post-land allotment services, resolve issues with government departments and also dovetail its CSR activities with the developmental goals of the state. This is first-of-its-kind development by any State in the country. Over 6600 industries have registered themselves on GO-SWIFT so far to avail various kinds of services.
The timelines mandated by Orissa Right to Public Services Act (ORTPSA 2012) have been mapped for each service to ensure that all approvals are delivered in a time-bound manner to the investors. The average time for application of services has come down significantly due to GO-SWIFT. For instance, in the case of Directorate of Factories & Boilers, so far 511 applications have been approved with the average time taken for approval at 25 days. This is lower than the timelines mandated by ORTPSA which is 30 days. Similarly, in the case of Directorate of Labour, 132 applications have been approved so far with the average time taken for approval at 18 days which is significantly lower than the 30 days mandated by ORTPSA.
With the objective of attracting 2.5 lakh crore of fresh investments and generating 30 lakh job opportunities as part of Hon’ble CM Shri Naveen Patnaik’s Vision – 2025, the Government of Odisha is diversifying and broadening the state’s industrial development across the focus sectors. Odisha’s investor-friendly policies and the development of world-class infrastructure have received very positive feedback from investors across the country as the State has been able to create an ideal business ecosystem for various sectors to flourish in the state. Over the last 3 years, the State Government has embarked upon the implementation of a Business Reforms Program to make it easier for companies to set up and operate in the state following which Odisha has been recognized as a ‘Leader’ in terms of implementation of business reforms with 92.73% score in the Ease of Doing Business Report of 2016.The second edition of the biennial Make in Odisha Conclave 2018 has been scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar from November 11-15, 2018.
ASSOCHAM has ranked Odisha as the No. 1 state in terms of investment implementation rate and the state is consistently ranked amongst the top 3 States in terms of live manufacturing investments in India. Odisha has registered a GSDP growth rate of 7.94 percent in 2016-17, surpassing the national growth rate of 7.1 percent.
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