Confident Odisha will lead India in investments soon, says CM Manjhi

CM Majhi says Odisha is witnessing record industrial activity, signing projects worth ₹50,000 crore in maritime development and ₹13 trillion in overall investments

In the first quarter of 2025-26 (Q1FY26), Odisha topped the list of states with new project announcements across sectors. On the sidelines of the recent Maritime Week 2025 held in Mumbai, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi spoke to Subrata Panda in an interview about his government’s efforts to attract large-scale investments and accelerate economic growth, and the key achievements of his 16-month-old administration. Edited excerpts:

 

Recently, Vedanta announced an investment of around ₹1 trillion in Odisha, which has lately been drawing significant investment interests. What are the reasons driving these investments into the state?

 

Odisha offers huge opportunities for setting up industries across sectors. With a 575-km-long coastline, good connectivity through roads, waterways, and air routes, abundant mineral resources, and land and water availability, the state is infrastructure-ready to attract investments. In the past, there seemed to be a lack of sincerity in driving industrial growth. However, today, with a double-engine government and strong support from the Centre, we are able to work freely. During the Maritime Week 2025, the Centre gave Odisha a free hand to develop projects in the state. We signed agreements worth around ₹50,000 crore for the development of a shipbuilding cluster at the mouth of the Mahanadi river in Kendrapara district, and the unique Bahuda Satellite Port project in Ganjam. The Prime Minister approved and announced these projects.

 

The mineral-rich regions of Kalinganagar (Jajpur), Keonjhar, Rourkela, and Jharsuguda also boast all-weather infrastructure. There is now a positive environment in the state, with the government forming a new policy, offering incentives and providing electricity much cheaper than other states. All this progress has been achieved within just 16 months of our government. Major companies such as Adani, JSW, JSPL, and Reliance Industries are already investing in Odisha, and Posco is making a comeback. During Utkarsh Odisha – Make in Odisha Conclave 2025, the Prime Minister himself assured the industry that now is the right time to invest in Odisha. These developments have put the state’s industrial growth on a fast track, and well ahead of others. We are confident that Odisha will soon become the number one state in India in terms of investments.

 

Have you set a deadline for Odisha to become the country’s top investment destination?

 

Apart from Odisha, we held roadshows in Delhi, Mumbai, and Singapore, which received an overwhelmingly positive response. This even prompted the President of Singapore to witness the signing of eight memoranda of understanding (MoUs). In the runup to the Make in Odisha conclave in January, within just six months of our government taking office, we received investment proposals worth around ₹22 trillion. Of this, MoUs worth ₹13 trillion were signed during the conclave. This created nearly 1.3 million job opportunities.

 

Earlier, the focus was primarily on large industries such as steel and materials. We now emphasise both large and small-scale projects such as apparel, green energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and information technology (IT). So far, 329 projects worth about ₹7.64 trillion have been approved through the high-level clearance authority chaired by the chief minister, and the chief secretary-led single-window system. Of these, work has started on 84 projects worth around ₹2 trillion. This has already created 164,000 job opportunities.

 

What are the steps the government is taking to develop the IT sector in the state?

 

Odisha is not far behind in this sector. For example, the world is intensely competing to attract semiconductor projects, and India is leading the way. After Gujarat, Odisha has secured the highest number of semiconductor projects in the country. Two months back, the Centre approved two of the four semiconductor projects across India for Odisha. The rest two projects went to two different states.

 

At an event in Delhi in October, Odisha held roadshows for 20 companies, and two of them signed MoUs with us. Semiconductor chips developed by students of National Institute of Technology-Rourkela and Government Engineering College, Berhampur, were presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

 

In just 16 months, we have made remarkable progress, and are now ahead in the national competition.

 

What are the key achievements of your government so far, and what remains to be done?

 

Our work has only just begun. There is still much to do in enhancing agricultural productivity, improving infrastructure, and developing the eco-tourism sector. We have upgraded Puri to a municipal corporation, and are developing a world-class museum and an aquarium there. Nearly 80 per cent of our population depends on agriculture. To achieve our goal of becoming a $500 billion economy by 2047, we have to strengthen this sector by creating agri-parks and promoting crop diversification. To this end, we have launched farmer-centric schemes such as the Chief Minister Krushi Udyog Yojana and the Kamadhenu Yojana, with adequate financial allocations. With these initiatives, we are confident that Odisha’s economy will undergo a significant transformation in the near future. Our vision is to position Odisha among the top five economically strong states in the country.