Bhubaneswar: Once hailed as a rising industrial powerhouse, Odisha is now facing a critical inflection point. While the State continues to attract substantial investment due to its rich mineral reserves and growing infrastructure, recent developments have sparked concern among industry stakeholders about Odisha’s long-term industrial competitiveness.
In a webinar, a top bureaucrat from the state, and a host of industry leaders prescribed, a proactive and industry-friendly policy environment, for sustaining and stepping up the potential of this natural resources abundant state.The call-to-action is aimed towards making Odisha an attractive industrial destination, it must shift from a regulator’s mindset to that of a facilitator, aligning with its Viksit Odisha 2036 growth ambitions with ease-of-doing-business and long-term investor trust.
While the recent announcement of over ₹1.65 lakh crore in approved investments across various districts signals Odisha’s ongoing industrial ambition, experts warn that unless core execution challenges are resolved, these ambitious plans risk delay or derailment.Odisha has witnessed a series of setbacks in project execution.Many industries are preferring to invest in other states over Odisha.The experts said that the industry is pinning its hope on the recently elected state government to work along with central government to introduce policy changes that will help sustain investment and boost confidence of existing investors.
Among many, one of the most pressing concerns remains land acquisition delays—a recurring issue even for projects that have received official clearances. Cases involving AM/NS India, BPCL, GAIL, JSW Steel etc, highlight how delays in approvals, local resistance, and lack of procedural transparency continue to stall progress and inflate costs.Government must enable land allocation, a pre-requisite for industries. This may otherwise delay projects indefinitely while inflatingcostsfrom vested interests thereby making projects unviable.Odisha has an abundance of natural resourcessuch asmajority of India’s iron ore, bauxite, coal, chromite, manganese reserves. Yet, the state is unable to fully harness the end-to-end value creation of its resources leading to a raw material supply deficitfor the existing industries that have invested in the state.
An industry dialogue “From Bhubaneswar to Bharat: Unlocking Odisha’s Mineral Wealth for Its Social & Economic Prosperity”, organized by Fijeeha, a development communication platform.
Dr. Jayadev Sarangi, IAS (Retd), Former Secretary to the Government of Delhi/Goa, said, “Prime Minister Modi’s call to action aligns with the needs of Indian industry. What’s encouraging is the improved connectivity—rail corridors, ports, and road networks—around mineral zones. To complement this, we urge the establishment of a dedicatedMineral Facilitation Cell in states like Odisha to integrate approvals, logistics planning, and community engagement. This will fast-track projects and amplify regional growth. Stakeholders of the mineral rich region need to be taken into confidence while planning a project. It will facilitate easier land acquisition and acceptance of the industry. Regional aspirations and imbalances should be the cornerstone of any upcoming project.”
Dr Manoj K Dash, Sr Advisor, Centre for Environment and Development, Bhubaneswar, said. “The government’s focus on value addition and resource-led development, as highlighted at the Utkarsh Odisha Conclave, is both timely and essential. Odisha’s bauxite reserves are a national asset—but their true value can only be realized through expedited mine clearancesandopening of mines.This will ensure raw material securityforindustryand avoid imports. This will indeedboost investor confidence and attract new investmentsfrom existing andnew investors. This in turn will lead to local community development and generate employment within the state. We must shift from being a resource-rich state to a value-rich economy.”
Guruprasad Choudhary, Strategic Advisor, BGR Mining & Infra Ltd, said, “The National Manufacturing Mission and mineral policy reforms reflect strong intent from the government. To fully utilize our natural resources, we need to enable faster approvals for mineral blocks. Most importantly it needs to transition to trust-based regulatory models like self-certification. This will allow industries to plan long-term investments and create stable employment across mineral-rich states like Odisha.”States like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have emerged as case studies in industrial facilitation by offering streamlined land & statutory clearances, effective grievance redressal, and robust infrastructure – features Odisha must integrate into its own governance approach.
Moderating the session, Dr Nikhil Raj Development Economist & Director, Sustainable Outcomes Pvt. Ltd, said,”We welcome the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s stance against raw mineral exports and his emphasis on domestic value addition. Odisha has the potential to become the metal capital of the world. But operational bottlenecks have led to the underutilization ofinstalled production capacity of plants and refineries. Addressing this gap with expeditious expansion of existing operating mines and fast-track operationalization of mineswill reduce our import burden significantly.”
“Speed and time are of the essence. There is healthy competition between the states to attract investors. Whichever states can set an example in speedy approvals and ease of doing business will emerge winners.
Odisha must act urgently to transform its promise into performance,” said Dr Nikhil Raj. “Regulatory frameworks need to become more predictable and investor-friendly to retain existing businesses and attract new ones.”
Key Challenges Identified:
Delays in land acquisitionRaw material security for industryInconsistent regulatory execution despite policy reformsLack of predictability in policy framework
Suggested Solutions:
Strengthen the single-window clearance system with measurable SLAs and ensure time-bound land allotmentFull utilization of Odisha’s mineral resources by expansion of existing mines and mine opening through self-certificationAssurance of long-term raw material security with stable terms & conditions for local industries5% of profits from mining projects to be used for local community development
