Bhubaneswar: The fourth plenary session of Vikash Manthan 1.0 –consultation Governance in Action, titled ‘Samruddha Odisha’ witnessed wide-ranging deliberations by senior officers on accelerating Odisha’s growth momentum through industry expansion, services transformation, urban reforms, logistics strengthening and rural economic revitalisation. The session reflected a shared optimism about Odisha’s emerging economic trajectory while underscoring the need for focused, time-bound execution.
Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries Department, highlighted that the industrial sector currently contributes about 42 per cent to Odisha’s economy and is poised for further expansion. He emphasised that manufacturing and services sectors carry strong employment generation potential and called for a calibrated shift from a predominantly mining-led economy towards metallurgy and allied value-addition sectors.
Pointing to Odisha’s coastal advantage, he stressed the need to build a robust petrochemical and coastal chemicals ecosystem, while also identifying food processing and textiles as high-potential sunrise areas. He noted that emerging domains such as green energy equipment and semiconductors have already gained initial traction in the State and can significantly expand Odisha’s industrial horizon in the coming years.
Vishal Kumar Dev, Additional Chief Secretary, Electronics & IT Department, underscored Odisha’s strong macro-fiscal position, noting the State’s revenue surplus and prudent debt-GSDP ratio, which provides strategic headroom for future investments. He observed that the relatively lower share of the services sector compared to the national average represents a major opportunity corridor.
Highlighting the State’s growing technology ecosystem, he informed that around 350 IT companies are currently operating in Odisha. With upgraded IT and Semiconductor Policies and India’s first dedicated AI Policy, the State aims to build 100+ Global Capability Centres (GCCs) across BFSI, healthcare, retail and manufacturing. He emphasised that Odisha’s low attrition levels reflect the strong work culture of its human resource base. Stressing inclusive technology adoption, he noted that AI must be democratised to benefit vulnerable sections, with ongoing efforts to train AI systems on Odia language datasets. He summed up the vision as a transition from a ‘mine-driven economy to a mind-driven economy.’
Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, stressed that Odisha must proactively plan for the future of urbanisation. Noting that the State’s urbanisation level is currently around 17 per cent, she called for calibrated urban expansion supported by forward-looking planning. Referring to global examples of urban transformation, she emphasised the State’s shift from a city-centric approach to an economic-region framework. She highlighted the upcoming Livable City Mission, focused on improving urban livability, alongside investments in seamless mobility and integrated urban infrastructure. Speaking about the BCPPER (Bhubaneswar–Cuttack–Puri–Paradeep Economic Region), Smt. Padhee stressed that 1/3rd of state gdp is expected to come from the proposed Economic Region.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, IAS, Principal Secretary, Works Department, described road infrastructure as the critical foundation for Samruddha Odisha, enabling growth across industry, tourism, rural development and logistics. Citing empirical trends, he noted that for freight movement up to 600 km, industries show a clear preference for road connectivity.
He observed that Odisha currently trails the national average in road network density and flagged the limited share of six-lane National Highways in the State. Emphasising a data-driven approach, he stated that the government aims not only to bridge the gap but to position Odisha among the top ten states in road density, supported by new economic corridors and systematic capacity augmentation to strengthen the State’s logistics backbone.
Girish S.N., , Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department, outlined a comprehensive rural transformation framework focused on non-farm employment, model village development, Gram Panchayat capacity building and last-mile road connectivity.
He highlighted plans to establish micro-skilling hubs across all 314 blocks, promote SHGs into SMEs, and develop high-skill rural industry clusters to curb distress migration. The roadmap also includes saturation of basic amenities in villages under the Model Village Mission, strengthened GP-level planning through performance-linked GPDPs, and a proposal to connect the remaining 2,601 unconnected habitations with about 6,505 km of roads under MMSY (Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana), with an estimated investment of ₹7,800 crore.The approach, he noted, is anchored in creating dignified rural livelihoods while enabling balanced regional growth.
The session, moderated by Prof. Kshiti Bhusan Das with Shri Rajiv Shekhar Sahoo as Co-Moderator, reinforced the State’s commitment to a coordinated, future-ready growth strategy. Deliberations under Samruddha Odisha collectively emphasised that with strong fiscal fundamentals, sectoral diversification and infrastructure acceleration, Odisha is well-positioned to advance decisively towards the goals of Viksit Odisha 2036 aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047.
