Odisha Amends Policies to Boost Semiconductor and Renewable Energy
The semiconductor policy, notified in September 2023 and amended in March 2024 and July 2025, had attracted investment in compound semiconductor units, the chief secretary Anu Garg said. The third amendment will support semiconductor equipment manufacturing, research and development, production of semiconductor-grade chemicals, gases and materials and supply chain components, and the state will provide additional fiscal support of 25 per cent of eligible capital expenditure for projects approved by the India Semiconductor Mission.
The renewable energy amendment is intended to accelerate deployment, enhance investor confidence and ensure affordable green power for consumers. The state will extend an electricity duty exemption of 50 paise per unit to eligible net metering consumers for 10 years from a project's commissioning date and will provide a 20 paise per unit state transmission utility charge exemption for standalone battery energy storage systems.
The cabinet approved the Parbati Giri Megalift Irrigation Project with an outlay of Rs 124,580 million (mn) from the state's own resources over five years, from 2026-27 to 2030-31, to create an additional irrigation potential of 262,275 hectares through 161 projects across the state. It also approved improvement of tanks and minor irrigation projects phase three with an outlay of Rs 3,890 million (mn) to revive irrigation over 15,700 hectares, and extended the Malati Devi Prak Vidyalaya Paridhan Yojana for five years with a budget of Rs 5,865 million (mn) to provide free uniforms and shoes to pre-school children in Anganwadi centres. The Jashoda scheme and its sub-scheme Ashribad were extended for another five years with an outlay of Rs 2,969.9 million (mn), and the cabinet approved implementation of the Odisha State Workflow Automation System 3.0 with a cost of Rs 1,226 million (mn) for paperless office operations.