Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday said Odisha is witnessing a new industrial revolution and the state government is committed to developing Odisha as a major industrial and defence hub of the country.
Majhi was speaking after inaugurating the second Shakti engine manufacturing line at HAL, Sunabeda in Koraput district along with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Highlighting growth of metal downstream, semiconductor and IT industries in the state, Majhi said these industries will be helpful in manufacturing defence equipment and proposed to set up another defence manufacturing unit in Odisha.
“Today a new industrial revolution has emerged in Odisha, which is creating a rich ecosystem starting from metal to semiconductor,” Majhi said, stressing indigenous technology and self-reliance in defence.
Lauding HAL Koraput Division’s 60-year contribution to national security, Majhi said inauguration of the second Shakti line capable of producing 100 engines per year for light helicopters and handover of the 2000th engine is a shining symbol of India’s growing defence capability. The unit is also raising AL-31FP engine capacity from 30 to 50 per year and implementing projects worth Rs 1,600 crore, he said.
Giving an account of industrialisation, the Chief Minister said since the double-engine government came to power, Odisha has received industrial proposals worth about Rs 22.5 lakh crore, of which Rs 12.5 lakh crore have been approved. 152 industries worth more than Rs 3 lakh crore have been grounded, creating 25 lakh jobs.
“Now industries are not limited to just a few districts, industries are being set up in every district,” he said. To promote the semiconductor sector, an ‘Odisha Silicon Valley’ spread over 870 acres is being set up at Naraj and projects like SiCSEM and 3DGS are under construction, which will play a key role in making India self-reliant in semiconductors, Majhi added
On this occasion, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi, Kotpad MLA Rupu Bhatra, Laxmipur MLA Pabitra Saunta, Koraput MLA Raghuram Macha, Secretary, Central Department of Defence Production Sanjiv Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of HAL Shri K. Ravi, Deputy Chief of Air Staff (DCAS) of Air Headquarters Air Marshal Tej Pal Singh, and Koraput Collector Manoj Satyavan Mahajan along with leading scientists, engineers, senior officers and staff of the organization were present.
