Bhubaneswar, May 28: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched 19 industrial projects with an investment of Rs 2,675 crore, which will create employment opportunities for 8,953 persons.

The Chief Minister performed the ground-breaking ceremony for 12 new industrial projects and inaugurated seven projects through video conferencing here.

Patnaik said that two of the projects for which the ground-breaking ceremony was organised on November 16, 2017, were inaugurated on Monday and would go into production in about six months time.

"This underscores the number one position of the state in the country in terms of Investment Implementation Rate," he added.

"Odisha has a vision of becoming the most preferred investment destination in the country. Towards that end, we have devised the Odisha Industrial Development Plan Vision 2025 to set up more manufacturing industries in focus sectors with an investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crores, generating employment for 30 lakh people," said the Chief Minister.

In the aftermath of the Make in Odisha Conclave 2016, the first ground-breaking ceremony was held in November, 2017 for 15 manufacturing units with investments worth Rs 11,690 crore with scope to generate 8,187 jobs.

"The Make in Odisha Conclave in 2016 was an important milestone in our journey of industrial development and helped generate investment intents in diverse sectors, other than the traditional areas of mines, metals and energy," said Patnaik.

"To ensure that the investments intents received during the conclave are converted quickly, my government has worked with a dedicated focus to ensure that all required support such as land, utilities and Departmental clearances are made available to them expeditiously," he added.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Thursday reduced the size of his official convoy to the minimum required strength following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's austerity call.

In a post on 'X', the Lok Bhavan said Gehlot had taken the step in response to the Prime Minister's appeal for fuel conservation and reduction in foreign exchange expenditure amid the West Asia crisis.

"Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot has reduced his convoy to the minimum required strength, following Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji's appeal," the post said.

The move comes days after Modi, while addressing a rally organised by the BJP in Hyderabad, called for several measures aimed at conserving foreign exchange and reducing dependence on imports amid tensions in West Asia.

The Prime Minister had urged citizens to reduce petrol and diesel consumption, use metro rail services in cities, adopt carpooling, increase the use of electric vehicles and utilise railway services for parcel transportation. He had also suggested working from home wherever possible to conserve fuel and foreign exchange.

Modi further appealed to people to postpone the purchase of gold and foreign travel for one year, reduce edible oil consumption, lower dependence on chemical fertilisers and promote natural farming and swadeshi products to strengthen self-reliance and conserve foreign exchange.