Odisha-Singapore sign eight pacts on Day 1 of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s visit

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government on Friday signed eight MoUs with Singapore-based companies spanning sectors of skill development, semiconductor, sustainable energy, green hydrogen and ammonia, industrial park development, sustainable insure-tech and city development planning.

The agreements were signed in presence of Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Tharman, the first head of a nation to visit Odisha, arrived here in the morning with Majhi, Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, ministers of the state cabinet and senior officials according him a warm welcome at the airport.

In his meeting with President Tharman, Majhi highlighted Odisha government’s vision for sustainable development and technological innovation. “The collaborations will facilitate global investments and accelerate Odisha’s journey towards a developed state and becoming a hub for technology, education and renewable energy. The state will benefit immensely from the bilateral ties,” Majhi said.

In a significant step towards enhancing the technical training and skill ecosystem, the Skill Development and Technical Education (SD&TE) department of the state government signed an agreement with ITE Education Services (ITEES), a subsidiary of Institute of Technical Education (ITE) under the Ministry of Education, Singapore.

The partnership will help expand the World Skill Centre (WSC), Bhubaneswar and set up a world centre for IT and ITES in areas such as cyber security, cloud computing, blockchain, internet of things and data science. President Tharman went around the state-of-the-art labs at WSC, interacted with students and instructors, and appreciated Odisha’s commitment for promoting innovation and technical excellence.

The ITEES will support skilling youth in new and emerging areas and extend knowledge support for establishment of zonal ITIs across the state with introduction of new trades and robust industry engagement. It will also help set up a centre for semiconductor-related training programmes. The MoU will be valid for a period of five years.

A tripartite agreement was signed between Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, GRIDCO Limited and IIT-Bhubaneswar for advance R&D in sustainable energy technologies.

Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) signed two non-binding MoUs with the state government in the presence of Singapore’s Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat and the chief minister.

The tie-up between Sembcorp Green Hydrogen India Private Limited (SGHIPL) and Ipicol will explore the possibility of a production facility for green hydrogen and its derivatives, with a production capacity of 7.2 lakh tonne per annum. The facility is expected to generate over 2,000 employment opportunities during its operational phase. Similarly, Sembcorp Development Ltd signed an MoU with Idco to assess the potential for the development of an industrial park in the state.

The E&IT department inked a pact with Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), Singapore to establish a global competency centre (GCC) for InsureTech industry.

Surbana Jurong Infrastructure Pte Ltd also signed two separate MoUs with Idco and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) for strategic positioning and planning for Odisha Petro Chemical and Petroleum Investment Region (PCPIR) and new city development plan near the state capital, respectively. The activities will be rolled out over the next one year.