Bhubaneswar: The smart, happening, sports capital of the east; trendy, IT- hub and education epicenter; and, last but not the least important, the Temple City famous for its array of wonderful monuments, the state capital has gone a step further towards making its presence felt.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has formed a Bhubaneswar Investment Promotion and Facilitation Cell headed by the BMC commissioner to facilitate primary support for all investment related queries, handholding and liasioning services for the investors in the city. The cell will have three designated senior officers of the civic body to look after investment promotion, investor facilitation and ease of doing business, respectively.
According to an office order issued by the largest civic body of the state, while Additional Commissioner Suratha Chandra Mallick will act as the nodal officer for investment promotion, Deputy Commissioners Srimanta Mishra and Prabir Khilar will act as nodal officers for investor facilitation and ease of doing business, respectively. It also added that the cell shall also act as a facilitation support centre for handholding and supporting the budding entrepreneurs and the start-ups in Bhubaneswar.
The cell shall work closely with industrial promotion and investment corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) and Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) and other state agencies, departments and city agencies concerned to further improve the investment climate in the city and make Bhubaneswar a competitive and attractive investment destination.
The duties and responsibilities of the nodal officers shall be based on their designated functions of the cell and shall be as defined by the Municipal Commissioner from time to time. BMC will also extend the support of its project management unit (PMU) to the cell to enable it to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively.
It would be pertinent to mention here that during the past few years the investment environment has significantly improved and investors are showing interests in sectors with enhanced qualities of urban infrastructure and services in the city.
BMC has been taking pro-active steps for improving the ease of doing business across the urban area. Recently, it has further streamlined procedures for granting building plan approval by implementing the Online Building Plan Approval System.
Promising future hub
With better connectivity through rail, air and road Bhubaneswar emerged topper in the National Smart City Challenge of the Government of India in 2015-16 and is being developed as a Smart City. The city has also been ranked as the 3rd best city among 17 cities in the country in terms of ease of doing business, according to a survey report by the World Bank in November, 2017.
In recent times, the city has experienced strong growth in terms of population as well as opportunities. Because of the business friendly environment of the city, there is a steady growth in business travellers to the city. Additionally, Bhubaneswar being the Temple City and a gateway to other tourist attractions in Odisha like the Jagannath Temple at Puri and the Sun Temple at Konark, tourists flow is also significant.