BHUBANESWAR: Positioning Odisha as a fast-emerging growth engine, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said the state has recorded a robust 7.9 per cent economic growth rate and attracted investment intents worth nearly Rs 20 lakh crore in the past 20 months.
Addressing the valedictory session of ‘Vikash Manthan 1.0: Governance in Action’ at Lok Seva Bhawan, the chief minister said the government’s Viksit Odisha-Viksit Bharat vision is being driven by rapid economic expansion, infrastructure development, social transformation and cultural resurgence.
Majhi informed that projects worth Rs 2.4 lakh crore across 109 initiatives have been grounded or inaugurated, with an employment potential of around 1.76 lakh jobs. He noted that Odisha’s 7.9 per cent growth rate is above the national average, while the state budget has crossed Rs 3 lakh crore, reflecting enhanced fiscal capacity.
The capital outlay for infrastructure in the current budget stands at Rs 72,100 crore, around 6.5 per cent of GSDP - among the highest in the country. Despite aggressive capital spending, Odisha’s debt-to-GSDP ratio remains at 13.6 per cent, well below the FRBM threshold, he said. Highlighting industrial progress, the chief minister said Odisha has gained national recognition in ease of doing business and introduced new policies in electronics, artificial intelligence, Global Capability Centres and semiconductors to strengthen its position as a digital and industrial hub.
On the social front, he said over one crore women have benefited from the Subhadra scheme, with nearly 17 lakh becoming Lakhpati Didis. In agriculture, paddy procurement at Rs 3,100 per quintal has strengthened farmer confidence. During 2024-25, the state procured a record 92.63 lakh metric tonne of paddy, disbursing Rs 28,715 crore to farmers.
The CM said, the government has opened 45,000 early childhood centres and filled over 20,000 teaching posts. The health budget for 2026-27 has been pegged at Rs 23,182 crore, while 1.03 crore families are covered under the Ayushman Bharat-Gopabandhu Jana Arogya Yojana.
Lauding the Odisha Centre for Integrated Development (OCID) for organising the two-day conference attended by over 500 policymakers and experts, Majhi said such deliberations are crucial for charting Odisha’s long-term growth trajectory.