Some Aspects of Informal Sector Growth in Orissa

This paper portrays the profile of the informal sector around National Aluminium Company (NALCO), a formal sector establishment, in the economically backward state of Orissa. It is observed that though the direct backward and forward linkages of the informal sector with NALCO are negligible, there are significant indirect linkages. Further, migration of entrepreneurs to industrial centres, not necessarily urban centres, is prompted by both 'pull' and 'push' factors. The paper also finds that the benefits of growth of informal activities will not accrue to the local population displaced due to the establishment of the formal sector company, if the entrepreneurs are predominantly migrants.