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Odisha
Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said India has recorded the highest-ever addition of green energy capacity in the current financial year at 31.25 GW (Gigawatt), including 24.28 GW of solar power. Addressing the inaugural session of the Global Energy Leaders' Summit 2025 here, the minister also announced a 1.5 lakh rooftop solar ULA (Utility Led Aggregation) model for Odisha, which would benefit 7-8 lakh people across the state. The summit was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and attended by energy ministers of various states. After taking nearly 70 years to reach 1 TW (Terawatt) of renewable energy capacity in 2022, the world achieved 2 TW by 2024, Joshi said adding that the second terawatt was achieved in just two years. "India is a key driver of this explosive global surge in renewable energy. In just 11 years, the country's solar capacity has grown from 2.8 GW to around 130 GW, a rise of more than 4,500 per cent. Between 2
The Odisha government has identified 51 Bangladeshi infiltrators in different districts since the BJP came to power in the state, and 49 of them were deported to their nation, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the assembly on Monday. In a written reply to a question of BJD legislator Goutam Buddha Das, the chief minister said, "Since the new government came to power in Odisha, a total of 51 Bangladeshis have been identified in various districts of the state." The BJP government led by Majhi assumed office on June 12, 2024. Out of the identified Bangladeshi infiltrators, 49 were repatriated, while cases were registered against the other two immigrants (one in Ganjam and another in Kandhamal) for getting Indian passports in their names using fake documents and sent to judicial custody, he said. As per the statement of the CM, a maximum of 24 Bangladeshi immigrants were from Urban Police District (UPD)-Khurda district, 15 from UPD-Cuttack, six from Ganjam district, three from ...
Odisha has emerged as the most attractive state in India for micro, small, and medium enterprises, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said here on Sunday. Addressing the valedictory function of the Odisha Industry Conclave-2025, Majhi said his government is committed to making the dreams of four and a half crore people of Odisha a reality. Since the BJP came to power in 2024, the government has taken several steps to promote industrial development in Odisha, he said. Under our 'Go Swift Single Window' system, projects are being approved not in months but in a single day. This year, 6.1 per cent of our state's GDP has been invested in infrastructure, which is the highest in India, he said. Noting that the 'Laghu Udyog Bharati' has a significant role to play in the journey of industrialisation in the state, he said the efforts of this institution in supporting more than 980 industrial units, creating employment, facilitating entrepreneurs and contributing to the goal of a self-reliant
Opposition BJD and Congress members on Saturday walked out of the Odisha Assembly in protest against the cancellation of over eight lakh ration cards of poor people, a charge denied by the state government. The issue was raised in the Assembly through a debate on the admissibility of an adjournment motion moved by BJD chief whip Pramila Mallik, leading to a heated exchange between opposition and treasury benches. Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister KC Patra rejected the allegation, saying the state had so far cancelled 8,16,056 ration cards through e-KYC verification. "Of the total cancelled cards, 6,95,530 belonged to deceased persons, 75,030 to government employees, and 45,496 to Income Tax payees. What is wrong in cancelling ineligible cards? he asked, adding that the move saved the state Rs 210 crore in a year. The minister informed the House that the the government had set a target to identify 13.5 lakh new beneficiaries in rural areas and 1.5 lakh in urban areas to is
Tata Power Company Ltd on Thursday said it plans to set up a 10-GW ingots and wafers manufacturing facility in Odisha at an investment of Rs 10,000 crore. Ingots and wafers are key raw materials used in the production of solar cells and modules, as well as semiconductor chips, it said in a release. The company, which currently has 4.55 GW of cell and module manufacturing capacity, aims to backward integrate ingots and wafers into its solar cell and panel production for both domestic use and export markets, it said. "Tata Power is evaluating two possible locations like Gopalpur in Ganjam district and Cuttack for its ingots and wafers facility. Both locations offer proximity to the port," the release said.
Droupadi Murmu is set to script history on Thursday by becoming the first President to address the Odisha assembly during her two-day visit to the state, officials said. Murmu is scheduled to address members of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 4.30 pm to 5.30 pm, Speaker Surama Padhy said. The President hails from Odisha, and is a former member of the assembly. Murmu will arrive at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here at 2 pm and reach the Raj Bhavan at 2.20 pm to inaugurate the Kalinga Atithi Nivas, the officials said. She was elected to the Odisha assembly from the Rairangpur seat in Mayurbhanj district twice 2000 and 2004. Padhy said Murmu will be the first President to visit and address the Odisha Assembly. Murmu was also a minister in the BJD-BJP coalition government in Odisha. The President will also visit room number 11, the chamber in the assembly from where she functioned as a minister. She served as an MoS with independent charge for Commerce and Transport
Researchers from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela, have patented an eco-friendly method to produce black terracotta wares, according to officials. The research team, led by Swadesh Kumar Pratihar, Professor of Ceramic Engineering, along with Shiv Kumar Verma, Senior Technical Assistant, and Rupesh Mandal, a research graduate from NIT-Rourkela, has developed the process, which merges traditional artisan knowledge with modern technology to produce black terracotta sustainably. The word terracotta comes from Italian and means baked earth. In India, it has been extensively used for kitchenware, temple sculptures, and roofing tiles. The most common variety is red terracotta, made by firing clay in the presence of air. According to Pratihar, the presence of iron in the clay, when exposed to fire, leads to oxidation, resulting in its characteristic red colour. In chemical terms, ferric oxide produces the red colour in the process. On the other hand, black terracotta war
BJD president and Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Friday congratulated BJP candidate Jay Dholakia for his spectacular victory in the Nuapada bypoll and hoped that he would bring development to the area. Dholakia won the Nuapada assembly bypoll in Odisha by 83,748 votes on Friday. The Congress bagged the second spot, while the BJD was relegated to the third position. Patnaik, who campaigned for BJD candidate Snehangini Chhuria, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to every worker and supporter of BJD who stood united and worked tirelessly for the party. "Your commitment and spirit are the true strength of our party," the former chief minister said. "I also extend my congratulations to the BJP candidate on the victory, and I sincerely hope he will honour this mandate by bringing meaningful development to Nuapada," he said in a post on social media. BJP candidate Jay Dholakia, son of late BJD MLA Rajendra Dholakia, joined the saffron party a few days before the
At least three persons, including a minor boy, were killed and three others seriously injured when the balcony of an old apartment building collapsed and fell on an adjacent house here on Saturday, police said. The incident took place at Mani Sahu Chhak in the city, and all the affected persons belong to one family and were staying at an asbestos-roofed house close to the old apartment. "The balcony of the apartment fell on our house. My husband, son and grandson died in the incident," said the woman of the house. The deceased persons were identified as Abdul Jalil (60), Abdul Zaheed (30), and Abdul Mujahid (5). The injured persons were undergoing treatment at the hospital. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who is on a tour to poll-bound Nuapada, expressed grief over the death of three persons and announced Rs 4 lakh compensation for the next of kin of the deceased persons. "On learning about the loss of lives of three members of a family (Abdul Mujahid, Abdul Zahid and Abdul Jal
Asserting that Paradip in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district would soon emerge as the gate way to eastern India, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Tuesday said the port town will have a greenfield airport, a cruise terminal and also become a hub of green hydrogen. Majhi said this while inaugurating the Kalinga Bali Jatra at Paradip, marking ancient Odisha's maritime tradition which is a symbol of courage of Odia sailors and traders. "This festival reminds us about our ancestors who conquered the high waves of the sea and established trade and cultural relations with various countries by taking ships to different places," he said. Paradip will become a green hydrogen hub and house a cruise terminal. The terminal will be built on the Mangala River to make Paradip a tourism hub and the state government has allocated Rs 500 crore for this, Majhi announced adding that the port town will soon have an airport. The CM said that Paradip Port is a key facility of India now, which has become a h
Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA) has signed definitive agreements to acquire Tata Steel's ferro chrome plant at Kalinganagar, Odisha, for a base consideration of Rs 610 crore. The acquisition adds 99 MVA furnace capacity - 66 MVA operational and 33 MVA under construction - taking IMFA's total installed capacity beyond 0.5 million tonnes per annum, the company said in a statement. With this deal, IMFA becomes India's largest and the world's sixth-largest ferro-chrome producer. Spread across 115 acres, the Kalinganagar facility includes four furnaces capable of producing 100,000 tonnes per annum, expected to rise to 150,000 tonnes once a fifth furnace is commissioned. The plant's proximity to IMFA's captive chrome ore mines is expected to yield cost savings and operational synergies. The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, is likely to close within three months. Calling the acquisition "transformational," IMFA Managing Director Subhrakant Panda said it would ...
Senior BJD leader Amar Patnaik joined the ruling BJP in Odisha on Monday. Patnaik, the IT Cell head of the BJD and its spokesperson, switched sides days ahead of the Nuapada by-election on November 11. A former account general, he joined the BJP as BJD president Naveen Patnaik started campaigning for the by-election. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, state BJP president Manmohan Samal and its Odisha in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar welcomed him to the party. "I joined the BJP to serve the nation. I quit my government job in 2018 and became an MP in 2019. So far, I have worked for the development of the state, and now the time has come to dedicate myself to the nation," Patnaik said. "Therefore, I think, BJP is the right party to serve the nation," he added.