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Arthashastra 2006: Annual Union Budget Analysis Held at XIM, Bhubaneswar
He also lamented on how Orissa had not been considered to a greater extent in the general scheme of things, in spite of the state's potential as an industrial hub. To emphasize on his last point, Mr. Ghadai mentioned that Orissa is not only attractively endowed with mineral resources, such as coal, but also boasts of fine shipping ports, such as Paradip that are far superior to those currently preferred by the industry. To exploit these natural advantages, Orissa needs the union ministry's help, simply because the economy of Orissa, compared to the overall Indian Economy, is not as robust.
The road ahead is a long one, which the economy of Orissa has to traverse in order to rid itself of poverty, another of its rampant problems. Currently, 47.9% of the population is below the poverty line. Needless to say, the state's per capita income (PCI) of INR 6000 is far below the country's, as a whole. On a positive note, Mr. Ghadai mentioned that the process of industrialization in the state had already started. To the tune of fifty industrial giants want to set-up shop in Orissa. As a concluding note, Mr. Ghadai mentioned that the path to industrial glory was long and true economic virtue lies in negotiating the challenges that would crop up from time to time. The finance minister of Orissa, Mr. Prafulla Chandra Ghadai, had to leave once his speech was over due to other pressing engagements that demanded his presence. Now came the time for the Panel Discussion. This panel consisted of Mr. Anil Ratanpal, General Manager of IDBI Bank; Mr. A. K. Sabath, Former CFO of Wipro, FCA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, and founder of 'A. K. Sabath & Co.'; Mr Dilip Satpathy, associated to the Business Standard for the last thirteen years; Prof. (Dr.) D. V. Ramana, Faculty of Accounting and Finance, XIMB, and member of Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia. The discussion was based on the various aspects of the budget. The panelists, one after the other, graced the lectern and expressed their views on the subject. One of the major issues that emerged from the discussions was the fact that the service industry contributed to the tune of 54% to India's GDP. This should, therefore, have been kept in mind before the Union Budget was prepared. Mr. Ratanpal emphasized on the fact that the current Union Budget was a simple one. According to him, this budget is tailor made for the present economic condition of India. He also mentioned that this 'budget would have very less negative impact on the industrial sectors,' to quote him verbatim.
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