THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, OCTOBER 7, 2026

Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg on Wednesday called upon industries, academicians and the Labour and Employees' State Insurance Department to work collectively to strengthen industrial safety, stressing that safety performance should be made an integral part of every interaction and review.

Addressing the valedictory session of a one-day workshop on “Safer Industries, Stronger Odisha – Technology, Innovation, Excellence in Industrial Safety” here, Garg said industrial safety must remain an uncompromising priority for both industries and officials responsible for ensuring compliance.

 “We need to be extremely careful about the procedures and best practices we put in place, how effectively they are monitored, and the priority we accord to safety, even when it involves additional cost,” she said.

Garg suggested that safety reports should be accorded the same importance as other aspects of industrial performance to reinforce a strong safety culture across workplaces.

She also called for a shift away from the mindset that industrial accidents are inevitable, saying many incidents occur due to gaps that develop when safety does not receive adequate attention or priority.

 “Every day, we must ask ourselves how we can make our processes and workplaces safer,” the Chief Secretary said, expressing confidence that sustained attention, stronger systems and collective responsibility would help build safer industries and processes and, ultimately, a stronger industrial ecosystem in Odisha.

The workshop, organised by the Directorate of Factories & Boilers under the Labour and Employees' State Insurance Department, Government of Odisha, focused on the role of technology, innovation and leadership in strengthening industrial safety, in line with the broader vision of Viksit Odisha @2036 and Viksit Bharat @2047.

The event was inaugurated by Principal Secretary, Labour and ESI Department, Dodda Venkata Swamy, who addressed the gathering during the inaugural session.

The first technical session examined safety enhancement through technological interventions in iron and steel industries, digital interventions in aluminium smelting and the use of technology to improve industrial safety in coal-fired thermal power plants.

Experts from Tata Steel Limited, Vedanta Aluminium Metal Limited and NTPC Limited shared their perspectives and industry experience on technology-driven approaches to improving safety standards.

The second technical session focused on “Safer Industries, Stronger Odisha – Strengthening Through Leadership”, highlighting the changing nature of factories and the need for safety systems to evolve in response.

The session also featured a presentation on “BonV: Enhanced Air Mobility” by a representative of Startup Odisha, showcasing an innovative technological solution.

The valedictory session marked the conclusion of the day-long exchange of ideas and experiences among senior government officials, industry representatives, safety professionals and other stakeholders on technology-driven approaches, innovation and leadership for creating safer industrial workplaces.

Director of Factories & Boilers, Odisha, Indramani Tripathy, Deputy Director of Factories & Boilers (Safety) Dr M K Pradhan and Assistant Director of Factories & Boilers (Safety) Anil Kumar Nanda were among those present at the workshop.