Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Majhi continues to take Odisha forward on the road to development with focus on industrial development, women empowerment and youth and sports.
Majhi recently visited Mumbai where he said that his mineral rich state has targeted to more than triple its steel production capacity to 130 MT from current 41 MT. This will be achieved by companies operating in the State by 2030. The state is planning to auction 22 mines to attract fresh investments. Odisha intends to be among the top five industrial states by attracting investment in downstream steel processing industries.
“Odisha will lead the country in the steel sector. We are becoming an economic power among the five states which are leading the country (in terms of economic development)” Majhi told reporters on the sidelines of Steel India 2025 event, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Steel and FICCI in Mumbai.
“We are currently producing more than 41 million tonnes of steel. Our target is to take steel production to 130 million tonnes by 2030,” he said adding that Odisha would account for some 50 per cent of the country’s total steel output.
He said the state, received investment proposals worth Rs 17-lakh crore at the two-day business conclave, “Utkasrh Odisha” held in January with a large portion of this investment intended for the steel sector.
“We have also rolled out a new industrial policy, offering financial incentives to the industry, which is far more simple and clear than such policies of other states,” he added.
The chief minister recently announced that Odosha’s growth transformation journey will be accelerated by launching a strategic initiative ’36 for 36′ by identifying 36 flagship initiatives in key sectors by 2036. The government has also decided that the ‘Odisha Vision 2036 and 2047’ document will be finalized in consultation with public representatives, members of civil society and common citizens very soon.
Equally keen to promote sports the government recently announced that Rs 4,124 crore would be spent on development of sports in the next five years. Inaugurating the five-day inter-university sports competition at Dharanidhar University in Keonjhar, the chief minister said, “Modern facilities for various sports including volleyball, cricket, football and athletics will be created in every block of our state. A total of Rs 4,124 crore will be spent in five years for development of sports.”
“The government has allocated Rs 1,319 crore for the Sports and Youth Affairs department in this year’s budget. Every penny will be spent on developing young talents from Odisha,” he said, adding that Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Koraput were being developed as sports hubs of the state.
Majhi said the CM’s Trophy has been launched as a revolutionary step to promote community level sports and identify talent from the grassroots level. Starting from the block to the state level, lakhs of athletes will participate in football, athletics, hockey and badminton championships for this trophy. This move underscores his vision of a modern Odisha where the youth would prosper in every possible field including sports. He wants Odisha to emerge both as an economic giant and also as the sports hub of the country.
Similarly, his government has been trying hard to promote women empowerment through the Subhadra scheme under which women are provided with funds to undertake a range of activities to make themselves self-reliant. Several instalments of the scheme have already been released.
