Indus Valley Times

By Dr Gourang Rout

Bhubaneswar, March 31: On Utkala Dibasa,Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, reiterates its commitment to accelerating Odisha’s growth moment through its manufacturing excellence and developmental initiatives.On the foundation day of Odisha, Vedanta Aluminium announces its intent to taketraditional artforms such as Dhokra & Saura up a notch by introducing new, contemporary designs which are more remunerative and present higher earning potential for the artisans. The company intends to showcase these statement pieces at high-end art galleries and premier hotel chains, showcasing exquisitely crafted pieces of Odisha’s rich culture & history to people across the nation.

Traditional artforms like Dhokra and Saura are a national treasure, representing the richness of India’s history and the depth of its cultural milieu. In its endeavours to revive and reinvigorate these fading artforms, Vedanta Aluminium trains artisans to produce more profitable contemporary designs through modern techniques, supports them in participating in various events, exhibitions and art shows to promote and sell their work at a better price, and provides financial assistance as well as financial literacy trainings for the artists to grow and properly utilise their hard-earned money. The company is also exploring ways to enable the sale of these art pieces via e-commerce platforms and lifestyle portals, thus giving them access to a wider audience.

Further, the company has also partnered with the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) to provide support in the physical display of products in Bhubaneswar-based shops and monetary grants to the artisans’ producer group in Lanjigarh who practice Dhokra. Recently, Vedanta Aluminium supported the artists in participating in various leading exhibitions, including theMake in Odisha Conclave at Bhubaneswar, where theygained market exposure and clocked more sales. In FY23 alone, the artists clocked sales worth INR 7 lakhs, which led to a 15% average growth in their household income.

Similarly, the company has been running an archery training program at Lanjigarh to nurture the innate skills of the local youth at the grassroots level, who are now proudly showcasing their sporting talent at major tournaments. The company has provided them extensive support in the form of professional training, top-quality equipment and uniforms/jerseys, and for participating in national tournaments. Today, there are about 40 students being trained in archery, which is one of India’s longstanding indigenous sports and has close links to the tribal culture still. In FY22-23 alone, its archery students bagged 34 medals, winning 11 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze medals.

Wishing the people of Odisha on Utkala Dibasa,Mr. Rahul Sharma, CEO – Aluminium Business, Vedanta Ltd., said, “With the aluminium industry deemed a ‘Champion Sector’ by the Government of India, Odisha has a crucial role to play in propelling India’s journey towards a USD 5 trillion economy. The Government of Odisha’s 5T framework has improved ease of doing business in the state, creating immense opportunities for organizations and citizens alike. Vedanta Aluminium is proud to be Odisha’s partner in progress and we are determined to use the full potential of our assets to make this state the aluminium destination of the world. Alongside this, on Utkal Diwas, we also vow to continue working towards enabling the communities around us to become empowered and self-reliant participants in their own socio-economic development, and through them of the state and country.”

Odisha represents Vedanta’s single largest investment anywhere in the world, as home to a world-class 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) Alumina Refinery at Lanjigarh (Kalahandi) and the world’s largest Aluminium Smelter at Jharsuguda with 1.8 MTPA capacity. Both plants are widely hailed for connecting remote regions in the state to socio-economic mainstream, while also contributing about 4% to Odisha’s Gross State Domestic Product.Propelling the juggernaut of Odisha’s progress over the years, Vedanta Aluminium has:

·         Creating state-of-the-artaluminium plants & infrastructure, making Odisha the ‘Aluminium Capital of India’

·         Created over 5 lakh livelihood opportunities

·         Supported the growth of hundreds of MSMEs, especially in remote regions

·         Triggered exponential district GDP growth, from 1% to 16% in Kalahandi and 15% in Jharsuguda, in the 2003-2015 period, putting them on the global map.

·         Supplied about 20 billion units of electricity, reducing power cuts in Odisha, at a time when the state was suffering from acute power shortage

·         Positioned Odisha at the heart of India’s manufacturing scene by producing one of the largest product ranges in aluminium, including ‘Restora’ – India’s first green aluminium

·         Connected Odisha to a vibrant international trade network, by supplying to over 50 countries from its aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda

Odisha is uniquely positioned to accelerate its growth by unlocking the full potential of the domestic aluminium industry. In this direction, Vedanta Aluminium has recently announcedthe Vedanta Aluminium Park, a state-of-the-art facility that will bring more aluminium-based industries to Odisha. This will maximize value addition and further deepen the industrialisation in the state, ushering in a new era for Indian manufacturing.

Parallelly, Vedanta Aluminium’s developmental endeavours in the realms of education, healthcare, livelihood, skill development, sports, art & culture, continue to benefit nearly 2.5 lakh people in over 130 villages in Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Kalahandi, Rayagada and nearby districts. The continuous endeavours of Vedanta Aluminium in the direction of Odisha’ development has started fructifying in the form of national and international recognition to the state’s manufacturing prowess, cultural legacy, unique artforms & heritage. The kinetics of Odisha’s growth have been tremendous over the decade, and Vedanta Aluminium is pledged to keep this momentum going.