BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s industrial landscape in 2025 reflected a year of investments in emerging sectors, diversification and execution led by renewed investor confidence that helped the state improve its economic standing and reinforce its reputation as one of the top investment destinations in the country.
The year was marked not just by investment announcements but by policy action, faster clearances and a visible transition towards a more broad-based industrial economy while expanding into new-age sectors.
The Utkarsh Odisha-Make-in-Odisha Conclave in January achieved a milestone by attracting 593 project proposals worth Rs 16.73 lakh crore across 20 sectors and 145 investment-related MoUs involving a total investment of Rs 12.89 lakh crore.
The state witnessed significant momentum in industrial investment as 244 new investment projects with a cumulative proposed investment of Rs 5.66 lakh crore and employment potential of over 3.35 lakh people were approved during the year. These investments spanned sectors such as chemicals, green hydrogen and green ammonia, tourism, food processing, textiles and apparel, IT and ITeS, ESDM, pharmaceuticals and green energy equipment manufacturing.
Along with the approvals, the state achieved substantial progress in project implementation, with ground breaking of 80 projects involving investments of over `1.75 lakh crore and expected employment opportunities for 1.4 lakh people. Manufacturing continued to anchor Odisha’s industrial growth, with steel, aluminium and metal-based industries retaining their central role.
However, a defining feature of 2025 was the state’s push towards value addition and diversification. Downstream metal units, auto components, electrical equipment, textiles and processed food industries gained traction ensuring reduced dependence on raw material-led growth and improving employment intensity. Several large projects in Keonjhar, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Ganjam, Khurda, Jharsuguda and Sundargarh moved from approval to construction.
The biggest strategic success of the year was the state government’s ability to bring South Korean steel major POSCO back to Odisha, this time through a partnership with JSW, to set up a mega steel plant in Keonjhar, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
After the earlier POSCO project failed to materialise two decades ago, the renewed commitment signalled improved policy stability, smoother land processes and stronger investor trust in the state’s governance framework. The POSCO–JSW project is expected to anchor the next phase of steel-led industrialisation in the state.
Steel and metals continued to dominate Odisha’s industrial landscape in 2025, but with deeper investments and wider regional spread. Vedanta Ltd stepped up its presence with major investment plans of over Rs 2 lakh crore in Rayagada and Dhenkanal, strengthening aluminium, value-added manufacturing and downstream operations. Adani Enterprises Limited’s massive coal to chemical project at an estimated investment of Rs 84,000 crore in Sundargarh district also dominated the mega industrial projects.
Beyond individual projects, policy reforms played a crucial role in sustaining this momentum. The state rolled out new IT and Global Capability Centre (GCC) policies, positioning Bhubaneswar and emerging urban centres as competitive destinations for technology services, back-office operations, engineering design and analytics. Another key addition to the industrial policy framework was the introduction of a dedicated Odisha Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Policy 2025.
For the first time, the state organised a textile summit and pharma conclave aiming to establish Odisha as eastern India’s textile and pharma hub by showcasing its infrastructure, policies and skilled workforce. While Odisha TEX 2025 resulted in 33 MoUs worth Rs 7,808 crore, the government signed a record 69 MoUs worth Rs 7,043 crore during the Odisha Pharma Summit 2025. The projects included 32 in the pharmaceutical sector with proposed investments of Rs 2,681 crore and one for a pharma park entailing investment of Rs 3,000 crore.