Odisha aims to become eastern India’s FMCG & processed food export powerhouse: Bhupendra Singh Poonia, MD, IPICOL

Odisha is fast emerging as a competitive destination for FMCG and food processing industries, driven by strong policy support, low operational costs, and a business-friendly ecosystem, says Bhupendra Singh Poonia, Managing Director of the Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL).

In an interaction with ET Digital, Poonia shares that Odisha is strategically positioning itself as an export hub for FMCG and processed food, catering to eastern India and Southeast Asia. The state plans to leverage its deep-draft ports, integrated logistics parks, and skilling institutions to build a competitive advantage in these sectors. Looking ahead, Poonia noted that Odisha is focusing on cluster-based industrial development, with an emphasis on creating new industrial parks and dedicated infrastructure for food and beverage processing, packaging, and cold-chain logistics. Edited excerpts:

The Economic Times (ET): How does Odisha rank in terms of FMCG investments? What is the total number of projects approved in the state so far, and what is their investment value?

Bhupendra Singh Poonia (BSP): Odisha has emerged as a competitive FMCG and food processing destination, offering policy support, low operational costs, and world-class infrastructure. Over the past few years, the state has approved more than 40 investment proposals in the FMCG and food processing sectors, with a cumulative investment exceeding Rs 6,500 crore. These projects span across sectors like packaged food, seafood, dairy, confectionery, beverages, and personal care products.

Major players such as ITC, Britannia, Parle Agro, Anmol Biscuits, Indo Nissin, and Nestlé have already established or are expanding their operations in Odisha. Additionally, the Deras Seafood Park, developed near Bhubaneswar, is attracting export-oriented seafood processing investments, leveraging Odisha’s aquaculture strength.

Looking ahead, Odisha is focusing on cluster-based industrial development, including new industrial parks and dedicated infrastructure for food and beverage processing, packaging, and cold-chain logistics. The state aims to become an FMCG and processed food export hub for eastern India and Southeast Asia, leveraging its ports, logistics parks, and skilling institutions.

ET: Setting up an FMCG business in India presents several challenges linked to state-level investment policies and regulatory frameworks. What kind of policies has Odisha come up with to simplify regulations and attract and retain investments?
BSP: Odisha has institutionalised one of India’s most investor-friendly ecosystems through a combination of Ease of Doing Business reforms, sector-specific policies, and digitised single-window systems.

Key enablers include IPICOL as the nodal agency for industrial facilitation, offering single-point investor handholding; GOSWIFT, the state’s single-window system that enables 54 industry approvals from 18 state departments; the Go Plus and GO SMILE platforms that facilitate land identification and regulatory clearances, respectively; and a structured grievance redressal mechanism through Industry Care, among others.

Importantly, food processing is recognised as a priority sector under Odisha Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) 2022, which entitles investors to a capital investment subsidy (CIS) of up to 20% with no upper cap; 100% reimbursement of electricity duty; power tariff reimbursement of Rs 2 per unit for 7 years; and 100% reimbursement of ESI/EPF for 5 years. These are complemented by additional incentives under the Odisha Food Processing Policy, 2022, including interest subsidies, quality certification reimbursements, and freight support.

ET: Land availability is always a big issue in industrialisation. In this context, how is Odisha ensuring industrial-ready lands for interested investors?
BSP: Odisha has developed a robust land bank mechanism to ensure smooth and timely access to industrial land. Key initiatives include the Go Plus portal, offering GIS-based mapping of over 1.5 lakh acres of industrial land across the state, complete with utility and connectivity details; IDCO (Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) as the nodal agency for land allotment, responsible for developing and managing industrial estates; plug-and-play infrastructure in food and marine parks (e.g., Deras, Khordha and Balasore) catering to food and FMCG units; and a dedicated industrial park developed under the PM Gati Shakti framework, among others.

ET: What is Odisha doing to boost its food processing and cold-chain infrastructure? Is Odisha focusing on mega food parks and agri-processing clusters like other leading investment destinations in the country?
BSP: Yes, Odisha has prioritised the development of mega food parks, agri-processing clusters, and seafood parks to strengthen its food processing and cold-chain ecosystem.

Odisha’s Food Processing Policy 2022 and APICOL (Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd) are actively promoting cluster-based agri-food projects, value-chain development, and export linkages. Furthermore, the government’s emphasis on infrastructure to boost industrialisation is clear, as it has proposed to develop an industrial corridor connecting Paradip-Choudwar-Dhenkanal-Angul-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda-Sundergarh-Rourkela to ensure rapid and integrated growth by facilitating seamless multi-modal transport services.

Under the Connect Odisha initiative, the government has planned multimodal logistic parks (MMLP) at eight different locations to enable temperature-controlled supply chains for perishables and processed food exports.

ET: High capital and operational costs in the FMCG segment generally act as barriers for small entrepreneurs and MSMEs. What steps is the government taking to address these issues?
BSP: Odisha supports MSMEs in the FMCG space through capital support, infrastructure access, and capacity building. Specific interventions include the following: Under the Odisha MSME Development Policy, MSMEs get capital investment subsidies; subsidised rental rates in IDCO-managed industrial estates; and plug-and-play units in food parks reduce upfront capital burden, among others.

Additionally, Odisha facilitates access to credit through Credit Guarantee Fund schemes and has launched capacity-building programmes under MSME RAMP and Start Up Odisha initiatives, enabling small FMCG entrepreneurs to access finance, market linkages, and digital tools.

ET: Could you shed light on the policy measures introduced to boost the MSME ecosystem in the FMCG space in Odisha?
BSP: The state has adopted a cluster-based development model aligned with the One District One Product (ODOP) strategy. District-level District Industrial Promotion Agencies play a crucial role in assisting MSMEs with approvals, land, and post-setup support. Entrepreneurship development is also a key focus: training programmes in food processing, supported with grants up to Rs 3 lakh per batch, are being run in collaboration with polytechnics and skill partners.

The Odisha Food Processing Policy, Odisha Industrial Policy Resolution 2022, and MSME Policy are well-integrated with central schemes like PMFME, enabling MSMEs to access both state and national incentives. Additional subsidies are provided for units led by women, entrepreneurs, and enterprises in industrially backward regions.