Bhubaneswar, January 22: Maintaining that Odisha has a magnificent history of overseas trade and commerce, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said that time is not far off when the Departmental stores in Europe and America will be studded with products made by our Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) from Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Malkangiri.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the State Export Award Ceremony-2021 via video conferencing.
Export plays a vital role in the economic growth of any State. The legends of “Sadhab Pua” of Kalinga venturing into overseas markets to promote our merchandise continue to inspire us to regain our past glory, said Patnaik.
“My Government is striving to create a conducive atmosphere to promote export through greater ease of doing business, implementation of 5T mechanism, infrastructure support and facilities for quality standardization. We are among the top five States in the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020 released by the Niti Aayog. Our efforts to promote exports are paying off in boosting our export turnover consistently,” said Patnaik.
“I am glad that despite the adverse situation caused by COVID-19 pandemic, export from the State in the current financial year up to November has registered 55 percent increase over the export value corresponding to the same period in last financial year. This is an outstanding achievement by the exporters of Odisha despite global recession and stiff international competition,” added Patnaik.
“There are many local MSME products which have the potential to compete in the global market. Time is not far off when the Departmental stores in Europe and America will be studded with products made by our Women Self Help Groups from Kalahandi, Kandhamal and Malkangiri,” added the Chief Minister.
Industry & MSME Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra said that Odisha has excellent potential to become a major exporting State in the country because of its natural resoruces, locations and advantages.
