The above headlines is partly an excerpt from a Telegraph report. Following are excerpts from an Economic Times report by Nageswar Patnaik.

Orissa is currently implementing project proposals worth of Rs.3,06,575 crore, about 32.6% of total investment proposals received by the state government, which is higher compared to other states, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Releasing a Paper titled ASSOCHAM Strategy : “Creating and Sustaining Growth Momentum in Orissa” here on Wednesday at a press conference here by Assocham President, Swati Piramal and Secretary General, D S Rawat, however, said at the end of September 2009, the state had 486 live investment projects worth Rs 9.4 lakh crore.

“This is 27% higher than the live investment reported as on September 2008”, Dr Piramal said adding that the respective shares of electricity, manufacturing, mining and services sector in total live investment are respectively 42.8%, 34.7, 56.6% and 6.3%.

… Explaining the reason for the state having more than 65% of investment proposals at announcement stages, the Paper clarifies that lower implementation rate of projects, of late, has become a phenomenon across states in India. “ …

According to the Paper, more than 10% of total investments

announced by both government and private sectors in India as on March 2009 have gone into Orissa. The state has attracted Rs 9,28,834 crore out of a total of Rs 88,71,867 crore announced in India. The state’s share was mere 0.87% in the total investment undertaken by different government sources. “In contrast, the share of Orissa was 13.29% in total investment made by the private sector in India. All most all of the investment that Orissa has seen has come from the private sector while government sources accounted for insignificant amount (Rs 500 crores out of Rs 9.28 lakh crores)”, it adds. .

The Assocham has emphasized on the need for infrastructure development in the state for faster pace of economic growth. “Good infrastructure facilities would not only reduce the transaction costs of the established economic agents but also make the State an attractive destination for new investments. The critical elements of infrastructure development in India are leveraging public resources to access a large pool of private resources and providing an environment that help take advantage of liberalized policies”, the Paper argues.

I have not been able to locate the report from the ASSOCHAM site. If anyone finds it please leave an URL in the comment. Besides the positive news in the above paragraphs, one issue to note is that Odisha is only getting 0.87% of the government investments. I wonder what the number would be if it is narrowed to central government investment. My guess is that the number would be similar. Odisha must make efforts to get its fair share with respect to central government investment, and not just in mining and metal sector. In that regard in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3298 we listed the central PSUs in Odisha and India.

Business Standard focuses on a different aspect in the ASSOCHAM report. Following is an excerpt from the Business standard report.

Citing lack of new age industries in Orissa, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) today called upon the Orissa government to focus on the development of IT, real estate and service sectors.

It also laid emphasis on the development of human resources to bridge the skill gap and improve the employability of manpower in the state.

it strongly pitched for the development of infrastructure, focus on sunrise industries like pharmaceuticals, small and medium industries, adequate importance on climate change and global warming, removal of regional inequalities particularly in KBK districts and connecting the ports with the industrial corridors. Similarly, promotion of employment through cluster development, setting up of ancillary industries, linking industries to supply chain and creation of opportunities for self-employment need to be given priority. …

ASSOCHAM has suggested that the land acquisition need to be left to the buyers and sellers of land and the role of the state should be that of a facilitator only. The project proponents have a role to rehabilitate all those families being uprooted for a project.

On Orissa specific initiative, Rawat said, an Orissa Desk has been set up in Delhi to focus on the human resources development and the development of food processing industries. Berhampur University has been roped in as the partner for the purpose.

The desk is working on the growth of agriculture and food processing industries in the state and drafting Orissa Vision-2020 to provide a road map for the development of the state. An investment seminar called “Orissa Calling Investment”, is proposed to be held in Delhi in October this year to promote investment in the state, he pointed out.

(Thanks to kalahandia for the topic idea.)

The following is from the press release at http://www.assocham.org/prels/shownews.php?id=2303. 

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Undeterred by economic slowdown, the domestic investment announcements of India Inc. registered a growth of 16 per cent during calendar year 2009 over 2008 with Gujarat, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh emerge as frontrunners, according to an analysis of ASSOCHAM Investment Meter (AIM) Study on Corporate Investments.

As per the annual AIM assessment report for Corporate Investments across States and Sectors, total investment plans of India Inc. increased significantly from Rs 13,80,099 crore in 2008 to Rs 15,94,203 crore in 2009; out of which Gujarat, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh carved out a majority share of 15.4 per cent, 12.6 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively.

The intensity of corporate investment activity during the period of economic downturn has proved the relative resilience of Indian economy.

“The robustness in corporate investment activity on the Indian soil shows how competently the economy has managed to weather the storm of unprecedented global financial crisis” said Mr. D S Rawat, ASSOCHAM Secretary General

In this context, Mr. Rawat, however points out the fact that the implementation of these investment projects has been hampered by a slew of hurdles. These include, land acquisition problems, bureaucratic inertia, ongoing economic slowdown and depressed expat market conditions. The government needs to address these issues on priority basis in order to realize the fruits of these investments.

Among the top investment attracting states, Gujarat registered the highest share in domestic investment plans during the January to December period of 2009. The state witnessed Rs. 2,45,352 crore worth of investment plans. Helped by the investor friendly policies of the state government which led to a smooth relocation of the Tata Nano project, the state attracted majority of investment plans in the real estate, power and infrastructure sectors.

Orissa stood at second position after Gujarat and recorded investment proposals worth Rs. 2,00,846 crore during the last year. The availability of rich mineral resources such as coal and iron ore along with cheap availability of manpower attracted massive investments in Orissa. Steel and power were among the sectors which attracted maximum investments in the state.

Successful commencement of gas production from the D6 block of KG basin helped Andhra Pradesh to rank amongst the top three states in attracting corporate investors in 2009. The state recorded investment plans to the tune of Rs. 1,29,157 crore. Energy and the real estate were among the major sectors that attracted maximum investments.

Karnataka and Maharashtra stood at fourth and fifth position by attracting investment plans worth Rs. 1,06,092 crore and Rs. 91,824 crore respectively during 2009. Karnataka has cashed in its investor friendly image by attracting a proposal of setting up a six-million-tonne integrated steel plant by Arcelor Mittal whereas benefitted by its financial infrastructure; Maharashtra has also been among the leading investment destinations in the country.

In terms of sectoral analysis, the ASSOCHAM Study shows that the power sector was the major investment attracting sector for 2009. The sector attracted investment plans worth Rs. 4,14,327 crore with a share of 26 per cent in the overall investment plans across the country.

Following the power sector, real estate and energy sector were amongst the top investment attracting sectors during the year. Real estate sector witnessed proposed investment plans worth Rs. 2,57,314 crore whereas energy sector attracted proposed investments to the tune of Rs. 1,98,565 crore.

Other sectors which recorded high flowing corporate investments during the last year were metals & mining (Rs. 1,59,534 crore), infrastructure (Rs. 74,210 crore), hospitality (Rs. 43,746 crore), auto/auto components (Rs. 38,150 crore) and telecom (Rs. 34,461 crore).

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

…  According to government data, steel and electrical equipment makers lead the pack of corporates in drawing up investments in new capacities and expansion projects. The department of industrial policy and promotion has received investment proposals totalling around Rs 99,958 crore in January. This marks a 65% increase over proposals filed in December.

The government reckons that if the projects fructify, they could create about 65,000 new jobs. Among the January proposals, Rs 15,654 crore worth plans are for West Bengal, followed by Rs 15,088 crore for Chhattisgarh and Rs 13,381 crore for Orissa. Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat are the other states where investments have been planned.

With focus on infrastructure development, especially in the power sector, investment of Rs 39,157 crore has been announced for electrical equipment and Rs 38,798 crore in metallurgical industries.

Among the industries, electrical equipment, metallurgical industries, cement and gypsum products are the areas attracting the maximum investment plans.

Though these are mere investment plans, the figures are yet another pointer that the worst may be over and the economy looks set for a rebound. This may sound contra-intuitive after dire predictions of a long and deep slowdown, but economists and investment bankers indeed see an uptick as early as September, or latest by December.

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Statesman.

The CapEx database of The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, which provides project-wise information of new and ongoing capital expenditure projects in the country, has ranked the state first in terms of value of total envisaged projects for the period ending December 2007.

With an estimated investment of Rs 59,9181 crore the state ranks ahead of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

The state also ranks first in terms of value of total projects under implementation in the country at Rs 308,589 crore. The other top ranking states in this category are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana.
Orissa also holds the number one position in the country in terms of value of total envisaged projects since the last three years.

At present there are 483 projects being carried out in the state out of which 52 per cent are under implementation stage while 48 per cent are in the announced stage.

The investment projects in the state include sectors like aluminium, airport, mining, port, power, steel, railway, road and tourism. In the manufacturing sector aluminium, ferro-alloys, steel and refinery are the main sectors attracting investments. Electricity sector has also attracted major investments.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

While the volume of envisaged projects in Orissa was Rs 5,99,181 crore, ahead of many developed provinces including Maharashtra and Gujarat, the state also tops the list of places in terms of prorject implementation.

Stating that majority of investment proposals came in aluminium, air port, mines, port, energy, steel, railway and tourism, the state government claimed that Orissa also led the states in project implementation. About Rs 3,08,589 crore investment was being implemnted in the state.

"The state continues to top the list of project implementation in 2005, 2006 and 2007," an official said quoting the study report of Capex Database Centre.

He pointed out that as much as Rs 5,99,181 crore investment was proposed in 483 projects of which 52 per cent (rs 3,08,589 crore) were in implemntation stage.

However, the official said that rest 42 per cent which amounted Rs 2,90,592 were in announced stage.

The state government also claimed that a large number of investors were in queue for putting their money in power sector.

Following is  from a report in Economic Times.

Gujarat is still on top of the heap when to comes to the list of most attractive investment destinations in the country.

The state attracted maximum project investments in 2007-08, followed by Maharashtra, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, according to a study by the Reserve Bank of India on projects funded by banks and financial institutions. At the same time, the overall investments in the country are expected to moderate in 2008-09.

With a proposed investment of Rs 62,442 crore from 100 projects, Gujarat continued to occupy the top spot as far as investment intention is concerned.

Of the total investment intentions in 2007-08, the state accounted for 22% of the total proposals for the year, though the share dipped from the previous year’s share of 25.8%.

Maharashtra, which ranked second, had a share of 12.7%, envisaging investments worth Rs 36,202 crore. Orissa was third with 10.9% share, accounting for investments worth Rs 30,913 crore, followed by Andhra Pradesh (8.5%), Chhattisgarh (6.2%), Tamil Nadu (5.6%), Karnataka (3.7%), Uttar Pradesh (3.5%) and the rest sharing less than 3% each.

The study involves 910 projects that were sanctioned assistance by banks and financial institutions in 2007-08 with an aggregated envisaged project cost of Rs 2,84,371 crore.

NDTV reported the following.

"Orissa topped the chart claiming almost 30 per cent of the total investments announced during the last quarter of 2007-08 totaling to Rs 3,25,285 crore," a study named ‘Statewise Investment’ said. India Inc lined up investment plans of about Rs 92,035 crore in Orissa during Jan-Mar 2008, with Rs 45,000 crore flowing to steel sector alone, it added. According to the study, Orissa is followed by West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh with the capital expenditure of about Rs 67,361 crore and Rs 58,226 crore respectively. The mineral rich states are attracting huge investments in sectors such as oil and gas, steel and power, Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said in a statement in New Delhi.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Orissa’s per capita investment under implementation in December 2007 stood at Rs 78,569 crore which was more than three times of the national average of Rs 22,842. This was reported in the latest report of the Centre for Monitoring of the Indian Economy (CMIE), which is considered as the country’s leading source for development-related information and statistics.

… Domestic as well as foreign investors have several large-scale investments on implementation in Orissa across the mineral, tourism, energy, infrastructures and IT sectors. The investment so far has started yielding positive results for the State in terms of direct and indirect employment and increased revenue.

The following table is from a column in Indian Express. (See also http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/?p=640 for the data in June 2007 and its comparison with June 2002.)

In an editorial page article in Indian Express, Ila Patnaik says the following about Orissa.

We examine data on projects under implementation in various states in the CMIE Capex data base. We compare data for June 2007 with June 2002 to assess how a state has fared on investment compared to its previous performance. … Orissa is also a major gainer, particularly over the last five years. It went from rank 8 to rank 2 over the last five years. While the Indian average for projects under implementation on a per capita basis grew by 93 per cent, Orissa gained by 381 per cent over the last five years to reach Rs 61,811 of investment per capita.

The article also has the following table.