BHUBANESWAR: Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Thursday expressed satisfaction over Odisha securing the fifth rank in NITI Aayog’s latest Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) Report, attributing the achievement to reforms and governance initiatives undertaken during his tenure while accusing the present Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government of taking credit for the BJD’s accomplishments.

 

In a post on his X handle, Patnaik said he was “glad to share” that Odisha had secured the fifth position in attracting investments, as per the IFI report prepared based on states’ performance during 2023‑24. He noted that Odisha secured an overall score of 52.4 per cent, compared to 56.6 per cent scored by Gujarat.

 

“From bankruptcy in 2000 to standing tall among top states in attracting investment across India is immensely satisfactory for me. The turnaround from a laggard state to a beacon state is a story of our sustained reform, fiscal discipline and transformative governance under the principles of #5T which is now being celebrated by the present Odisha BJP Government,” Patnaik said.

 

The BJD president said Odisha had outperformed several “double‑engine governments” on multiple parameters and had earned praise from NITI Aayog for prudent fiscal management. He pointed out that the state’s total outstanding liabilities stood at 16 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), while interest payments were 1.38 per cent of GSDP, which he claimed was the lowest in the country.

 

Questioning the progress of double‑engine governments, Patnaik highlighted that Odisha accounted for nearly half of India’s mineral output and close to a quarter of the nation’s coal production. He said sustained policy interventions and fiscal discipline during his government had enabled the state to invest in welfare programmes.

 

“Our sustained effort, policy interventions and discipline have turned the state into a magnet for investment. It has empowered Odisha to invest in people‑centric welfare initiatives. It helped us in pioneering schemes like #BSKY, #KALIA, and #MissionShakti to #SkillDevelopment, #OdishaSchoolTransformation, tribal welfare, #DisasterManagement, infrastructure development, irrigation projects, poverty alleviation and funding our own food security scheme without waiting for handouts from the Centre,” Patnaik added.

 

He conveyed his deepest gratitude to the people of Odisha, whose steadfast partnership had powered the state’s transformation.

 

While expressing happiness that the BJP Government was “chest‑thumping the achievement of BJD” as its own, Patnaik cautioned, “But I am worried that with the way the Odisha double‑engine Government is mismanaging finances, it could push the state into the same path of bankruptcy which we inherited 25 years back.”