Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Monday that the state is steadily positioning itself as one of the country's leading investment destinations, driven by proactive governance, investor-friendly policies, and robust infrastructure.

Addressing a press conference upon his return from a two-day Investors' Meet held in Hyderabad, the Chief Minister said that two sector-specific roundtable meetings were organised during the Hyderabad visit, focusing on the pharma and defence sectors.

He told that eight major pharmaceutical companies and 27 firms from the defence sector participated in these roundtable discussions.

Chief Minister Majhi said that in addition to the roundtable meetings, 73 meetings were held, including one-to-one interactions with 38 investors.

The Chief Minister also added that during the two-day programme, discussions were held with more than 500 industrialists, who showed great enthusiasm to make investments in Odisha.

The investors held discussions on the available infrastructure, policies of the state government and the incentives being provided for investment in manufacturing of drugs and medical devices, defence products, renewable energy, electronics equipment, IT, data centre, textile, technical textile and precision manufacturing during the meetings.

Chief Minister Majhi said that 13 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed during the Hyderabad Investors' Meet, involving investments worth Rs 27,650 crore, which are expected to generate employment opportunities for 15,905 people.

He added that combining MoUs and investment intent proposals, Odisha has received proposals amounting to Rs 66,781 crore, with potential employment generation for about 56,430 people.

Referring to the outcomes of the "Utkarsh Odisha – Make in Odisha Conclave", CM Majhi said that investment proposals worth Rs 4,38,224 crore have been approved so far, creating employment opportunities for around 2,55,817 people.

He added that foundation stones have already been laid for projects worth Rs 2,10,000 crore, with 1,63,725 employment opportunities.

The Chief Minister said the Hyderabad Industrial Meet and Roadshow saw detailed discussions on investments in manufacturing, healthcare, defence, renewable energy and textiles, along with deliberations on government policies and ease of setting up industries in Odisha.

"I personally handled discussions on how industries can be established in Odisha," he added.

During the visit, the Chief Minister also toured Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), the public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence based in Hyderabad.

CM Majhi said that the team from Odisha held discussions with the authorities of BDL for the supply of components required for missile and other defence product manufacturing by MSME companies in Odisha in the coming days.

He announced that ground-breaking ceremonies for several major projects will be held soon.

He also said that investor meets will be organised in Bengaluru and Kolkata in the coming days to further promote investment in Odisha.

He added that a comprehensive review will be conducted after the "Utkarsh Odisha – Make in Odisha" initiative completes one year to assess the progress of projects and the work accomplished so far.