A land of abundant natural resources, be it mineral reserves or agricultural opportunities, Odisha has emerged today, as one of the most promising states in the Nation’s saga of development.

This eastern state had for a long time, maintained an unassuming identity and been content to bask in the limited glory of a few individual achievements. However, the story has undergone a sea change in the last few decades following a trajectory of growth that has positioned Odisha among the most sought after states for industrialists at home and abroad.

Spread over 1,55,707 sq kms of land, Odisha has a total population of around 400 lakhs spread over 30 districts. Odisha is rich in mineral resources like iron ore, manganese ore, bauxite, coal, chrome ore and its mineral reserves constitute nearly 17% of the total mineral reserves of the Country. However, in spite of harbouring a huge repository of important minerals, the mainstay of Odisha’s economy through ages had been agriculture, which contributed about 26% to NSDP of the State .

Odisha’s long coastline of 480 kms, its plentiful water resources and its strategic position at the heart of the Country’s mineral deposits are all but ready for a new era of advancement and competitive industrialisation. Government interventions and massive initiatives taken by private companies like Tata Steel have led the State to the path of progress in significant ways.

Today, Odisha is standing at the crossroads of a new glorious future. On the one hand the state has to draw inspiration from its rich culture, heritage and history of fortitude and on the other it has to welcome the harbingers of socio-economic profitability with utmost co-operation and support. It remains for the people of Odisha to participate wholeheartedly in re-drafting their previous diary of obscurity and chalk out the collective destiny of prosperity and success.