Government has decided to set up an Advanced Plastic Processing Technology Centre (APPTC) at Balasore in Orissa to meet the increasing requirements of the trained technical manpower for the plastic industry. An official release says, APPTC will fill up the demand and supply gap of skilled manpower of the processing industry in the Eastern region of the country. Plastics have become the key drivers of innovation and application development. Plastics processing or product manufacturing industries is evincing increased competition worldwide due to globalization of the plastics trade. The Planning Commission has approved the establishment of APPTC in Balasore at a total project cost of 1500 lakh rupees. The State Government of Orissa has also agreed to share 50 per cent of its cost and provide land for setting up of APPTC at Balasore.