Odisha govt plans to set up MSME parks in every district: SC Mohapatra

Odisha government has plans to set up micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) parks in all the 30 districts of the state, a top government official said.

MSMEs will get all infrastructure support including land, electricity and water in the districts, chief secretary S C Mohapatra said in a programme here.

Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has been given more than Rs 450 crore to develop the required infrastructure in the districts for the purpose, he said at the concluding session of Propack Odisha 2022 and MSME Odisha 2022 organised by Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME) on Sunday.

"In the last few years, we saw 30-40% growth in finance to MSMEs by banks which is encouraging. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has held two rounds of meeting with bankers in this regard, Mohapatra said in response to entrepreneurs allegation of non-cooperation from banks.

Odisha Industries Minister P K Deb said the younger generation must take risk and not depend only on government support.

Odisha has got the best infrastructure for industries. Large and heavy industries are coming to Odisha. But what the state requires most is MSME. The industry bodies should come forward and suggest the policy change for better industrialization, he said.

State finance secretary Vishal Dev asked banks to ensure finance availability for MSMEs as the sector is an important pillar of economic development. But industries of this sector often face funding problem.

Banks, he said, have been told to ensure availability of finance for MSMEs and look after the quality part of finance. The government is also proactively organizing workshops with several banks and trade platform on regular basis.

Our plan is to add all PSU banks to trade discounting platforms by the year end. It will greatly help MSME, Dev said and urged banks to lend higher than what is targeted for them.