The Odisha government on Monday approved 14 proposals including the JSW Group's plan to set up electric vehicles and component manufacturing units in Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur districts with an investment of Rs 40,000 crore, a senior official said. 

The proposals were approved at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. 

"The Cabinet approved a special incentive package for the JSW Group's ambitious EV and component manufacturing projects at Naraj in Cuttack, and Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district", chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena told reporters. 

These projects, with a combined investment of over Rs 40,000 crore and employment potential of over 11,000, are set to usher in a new era of industrial growth and job creation in the state, he said. 

The JSW Group has proposed to set- up an EV and EV battery manufacturing project at Naraj, Cuttack. The company is also planning to set up an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) plant for EVs and components in the same facility in two phases, he said, adding, that JSW is planning to invest Rs 25,000 crore in the state, generating employment for more than 4,000 people through this facility. 

Similarly, the company planned to set up an EV components manufacturing complex consisting of a copper smelter along with a lithium smelter at Paradip in the third phase of its footprint in the new age sector. In this phase, JSW is planning to invest Rs 15,000 crore in the state, generating employment for more than 7,000 people, informed Jena. 

The state cabinet also approved the scheme 'Coffee Plantation for Sustainable Livelihoods (CPSL)' to promote coffee plantation in six districts of Odisha with a total outlay of Rs 1,144 crore. 

The chief secretary said the scheme will be implemented in the districts of Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, and Gajapati. 

The existing state coffee area of 10,000 acres is programmed to be expanded by 10 times (to 1 lakh acres) in a period of 10 years. Women SHGs will be involved in raising coffee nurseries and more than 50,000 farm families will benefit from the scheme, he added. 

The state government has also decided to amend the Odisha Government Land Settlement Rules, 1983 to reduce the conversion fee for conversion of leasehold land of Odisha State Housing Board (OSHB) and development authorities for residential purposes into freehold from the existing 10 per cent of the prevailing market value of the land to three per cent of the valuation of land. 

As per a judgment given by the Supreme Court, the Odisha government, in a one-time endeavour, has decided to grant a minimum pension in favour of the 782 Ex-VLWs (village-level workers), who had approached the Supreme Court in this matter. 

The cabinet approved additional budgetary expenditure to the tune of Rs 90 crore for sanction of the arrear minimum pension and Rs 11.38 crore per annum for sanction of minimum pension is considered as a special case. 

The cabinet also approved the Odisha Procurement Preference Policy for Micro and Small Manufacturing Enterprises 2023. The policy is applicable to all state government establishments as far as the procurement of goods by them is concerned. 

The policy intends to benefit Odisha small (and micro) manufacturing enterprises (OSMEs) and Startups, whose turnover is not more than Rs 50 crore per annum, Jena informed. 

A tender of Rs 329 crore for the construction of a 6,952-bed working women's hostel at seafood park Deras in Khurda district also got the approval of the cabinet. 

The proposal to extend the license granted to dealers to operate fair price shops for a period of six months from April 2024 to September 2024, has been approved by the state cabinet, said the chief secretary. 

The state cabinet also approved Odisha Biotechnology Policy 2024 to harness the potential of biotechnology towards sustainable socio-economic development and to boost the biotechnology ecosystem of the state. 

Under the policy, biotechnology units will be provided capital investment subsidy on actual investment in plant and machinery. Biotechnology units will be given financial assistance for obtaining quality certifications from recognised institutions during the policy period, he added. 

A dedicated directorate of biotechnology will be created for effective implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of various functions envisaged in the policy for the development of biotechnology in the state, Jena said.