Parul
The state of Odisha has emerged as an ideal place for setting up of steel industries. While addressing a conclave on capital goods for steel sector the union minister of heavy industries and public enterprises, Anant Geete has proposed a machine tools hub for the state of Odisha.
He also mentioned that, the government is helping in building machine tools hub in Karnataka at an investment of Rs 500 crore. Thereby, he has also proposed a similar draft to the government for the state of Odisha.
Anant Geete further added that, the proposed machine tools hub in an industrial park would be second in the country if materialised. In fact, it would also generate employment opportunities for the youths.
The minister said that he made this offer to Odisha as the state produces one-third of the total steel produced in the country and it will continue to do so when the target is fixed to produce 300 million tons of steel by 2030-31.
He further added that the investors who are coming to set up manufacturing units in capital goods related to the steel sector may take help of the proposed machine tool hub to be set up in Odisha.
He further stated that to promote prime minister Narendra Modi’s, Make In India mission they are setting up different manufacturing units which would also eventually help in the growth of steel sector of Odisha.
In wake of the mission, the ministry has meanwhile framed a capital goods manufacturing sector policy which was not there earlier.
In his address he further said, “the Indian manufacturing companies have the capability to manufacture all non-proprietary items and the government is committed to facilitate technological tie-ups between domestic capital goods (CG) producers and their foreign counterparts for capacity building.”
Meanwhile, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan, said, “Odisha has mega steel projects besides small and medium steel mills which also contribute significantly to the states overall steel production. The government believes that Odisha has the potential to produce nearly 100 million tons of the total 300 MT output targeted by 2030-31 as the state is home to sizeable mineral resource base.”
In fact, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan welcomed the proposal by Geete to set up a machine tools park in Odisha.
The Union Steel secretary Binoy Kumar also gave his views and said that, “it is in the interest of stakeholders that the capital goods industry should be strengthened so that competition increases, and this helps in reducing the capital cost of projects. Today, the imported plants may come at a lower cost but this is more often than not followed by their high priced maintenance contracts and spares. By local manufacturing, the maintenance of plant and machinery can also be done economically.”
