Cuttack: Odisha is all set to get one of the largest engineering cluster of India at the Indranipatna industrial area in Cuttack soon.
The cluster, which will come up under the Centre’s Micro and Small Enterprises — Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP), will incorporate the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that already exist there.
The Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development (IDCO) has allocated six acres for a common facility and eight acres for the special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the project.
An estimated Rs 31 crore will be spent on the cluster which will be promoted by the Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME).
The Centre will provide Rs 18 crore, the State government will chip in with Rs 7.18 crore as grant assistance under MSE-CDP scheme. The contribution of SPV members will be Rs 5.31 crore.
The engineering cluster, equipped with the latest facilities, will support entrepreneurs and startups in the field of defence, aerospace, oil and natural gas as well as support the MSMEs in the state.
Principal Secretary of MSME department Satyabrata Sahu said the mega engineering cluster is a part of entrepreneurial promotion as well as MSME development activities of the government. “All support is being provided to the SPV so that the project can be completed within one year. A new procurement policy is also coming up very soon which will give strong marketing support to local MSMEs,” he added.
While the cluster now has 88 member units of which, 17 belong to women entrepreneurs and 12 to tribal and scheduled caste entrepreneurs, the SPV has 61 member units from eight districts including industrially backward districts like Rayagada and Gajapati.
Ms Kalinga