The state of Orissa is witnessing rapid industrialization by taking advantage of its minerals, its coast-line, the comparatively peaceful nature of its people, the communal harmony (the recent event in Kandhamala is an anomaly), the relative absence of communist influence, the incorruptible reputation of its Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Patnaik, and the industrial climate of the state. A recent power-point presentation (8.6MB) elaborates on them. Below we list some data points.

• As per recent reports dated June 5 2008 (NDTV, indiainfo)

  Mineral rich Orissa lapped up about 30 per cent of over Rs 3,00,000 crore investments lined up by India Inc in the first three months of 2008, according to a study by industry body Assocham.

  "Orissa topped the chart claiming almost 30 per cent of the total investments announced during the last quarter of 2007-08 totaling to Rs 3,25,285 crore," a study named 'Statewise Investment' said.

  India Inc lined up investment plans of about Rs 92,035 crore in Orissa during Jan-Mar 2008, with Rs 45,000 crore flowing to steel sector alone, it added.

  ... Major players like Vedanta Resources, Tata Steel, Mesco Steel and Bhushan Steel intend to invest about Rs 45,000 crore to install steel plants with aggregate capacity of 18.5 million tonnes in Orissa.

  ... Home to huge iron ore and coal reserves, Orissa has emerged as a preferred destination for the players in steel producers. They intend to invest as much as Rs. 45,000 crore to install steel plants with aggregate capacity of 18.5 million tonne. The major players having lined up capex announcements in the state were Vedanta Resources, Tata Steel, Mesco Steel and Bhushan Steel.

  Other prominent sectors attracting investors' interest in the state include the power sector and the oil & gas sector. The industry pronounced to deploy about Rs. 7,875 crore in power sector and Rs. 4,560 crore in Oil & Gas. Gujarat Mineral Development Cooperation (power) and Reliance Industries (Oil & Gas) were the big-ticket investors.

• Earlier reports also make similar points. A report in Pioneer said the following about 2007.

  Orissa’s per capita investment under implementation in December 2007 stood at Rs 78,569 crore which was more than three times of the national average of Rs 22,842. This was reported in the latest report of the Centre for Monitoring of the Indian Economy (CMIE), which is considered as the country’s leading source for development-related information and statistics.

  … Domestic as well as foreign investors have several large-scale investments on implementation in Orissa across the mineral, tourism, energy, infrastructures and IT sectors. The investment so far has started yielding positive results for the State in terms of direct and indirect employment and increased revenue.

  A column in Indian Express by Ila Patnaik in March 2008 had a table that compared Orissa with the other states in terms of per-capita investment in 2007.

  Another Indian Express column by her in September 2007 compares data from 2007 with 2002 and comes to the following conclusion and also has a table comparing various states:

  We examine data on projects under implementation in various states in the CMIE Capex data base. We compare data for June 2007 with June 2002 to assess how a state has fared on investment compared to its previous performance. …

  Orissa is also a major gainer, particularly over the last five years. It went from rank 8 to rank 2 over the last five years. While the Indian average for projects under implementation on a per capita basis grew by 93 per cent, Orissa gained by 381 per cent over the last five years to reach Rs 61,811 of investment per capita.

• As part of these investments as well as to support these investments there is a large infrastructure building activity across Orissa in various fronts.
  • Ports: Besides the expansion of the existing Pardeep port; new ports are being built at Dhamara and Gopalpur and several other ports are in the pipeline. These include proposed ports in Astaranga, Kirtania, Inchudi, Jatadhari, Barunei muhana, Bahuda muhana, Baliharchandi, Chudamani and Palur.

  • Roads: Major improvements in roads are happening across Orissa.

  • Railways: As part of infrastructure development and connectivity to ports, mines and industries, 16 of the 60 projects being undertaken by RVNL involve Orissa.

  • Waterway: Major part of the proposed National waterway 5 passes through Orissa.

• Finally, the industrialization across Orissa, although heavily influenced by its minerals, has many dimensions. They are:
  • Many steel plants are in the pipeline; it includes Tata Steel's plant in Kalinganagar, POSCO's plant in Paradeep, ArcelorMittal's plant in Keonjhar.

  • Many aluminum plants are in the pipeline including Vedanta's various plants.

  • Many power plants are in the pipeline.

  • A shipyard is planned in Dhamara.

  • ICICI bank will have its eastern operation employing 5000 people in Bhubaneswar.

  • Major IT companies of India such as WIPRO, TCS, Infosys, and Satyam and already in Bhubaneswar; and others such as Mindtree are in the process of setting up units in Orissa.

  • One of the nations five or six PCPIRs is to be set up in Paradeep.

• Abundant water resources.

• A rich and glorious past
• World class tourist resorts: Puri beach, Konark, Chilika.
• A peaceful, crime-free atmosphere.