Orissa

Provisional Numbers in Census 2011
Orissa population as percentage of India : 3.47%
Population in 2011 : 4 19 47 358
Males 2 12 01 678
Females 2 07 45 680
Sex ratio : 978
Under 6 Sex ratio : 934

Number of Districts : 30
Number of habitated villages : 47,529

Capital
Bhubaneshwar

Principal Language
Oriya

Orissa: At a Glance
The name Orissa is derived from Sanskrit word "Odra Vishaya" or "Odra Desa". The ancient province of "Odra desa" or "Or-desa" was limited to the valley of the Mahanadi and to the lower course of the Subarnarekha River. It comprised the whole of the present districts of Cuttack and Sambalpur and a portion of Midnapore. It was bounded on the West by Gondwana, on the North by the wild hill states of Jashpur and Singhbhum, on the East by the sea and on the South by Ganjam.

The Orissa state, which was once a land of Kings and Kingdoms, now boasts of being rich source of natural resources. Its people, temple architecture, classical dance, religions, fairs and festivals, unique handlooms and handicrafts, green woodlands, rock caves, charming blue hills have always attracted historians, tourists and travellers from all over the world. Its rich history, revolutionary freedom movement, fascinatingly sculptured temples and monuments, tribal life characterized by dance, music, rituals, hunting, gaiety and wild ways have become important topics of research for great historians and scholars.

Agriculture & Irrigation
Orissa is primarily an agrarian economy having nearly 30% contribution to the Net State Domestic product (NSDP) with 73 percent of the work force engaged in this sector. The cropped area is about 87.46 lakh hectares out of which 18.79 lakh hectares are irrigated. Climate and soil play a vital role in Orissa's agriculture economy. The total cultivable land exploited for cropping is about 40% of the total geographical area and the exploitation is comparatively more in the coastal districts of Orissa i.e. Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Jagatasinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri etc.

Facts and Figures Related to Agriculture
Covered by Area of Total Gross Crops
Land under Horticulture
Types of Crops
Agricultural Zones on the Basis of Distribution of Crops
Irrigation
Water Resources at a Glance
Initiatives by Govt of Orissa
Facts and Figures Related to Agriculture in Orissa
At the time of independence food grain production of Orissa was 2393 MTs.
1995-1996 Orissa produced 7923 MTs of food grains.
Per hectare production of rice today is 1.4 MTs as against 1.8 MTs for the country as a whole.
The yield per hectare has been 1080 kg in comparison to the national average of 1620 kg.
In 1998 the cropping area utilized for food grain production was 89.4 % of the total cultivable land.
Extent of rain-fed cultivable land: 62%
Fertilizer consumption: 290.56%

Water Resources at a Glance

1. Net irrigation potential 2603.06 thou.ha (44.12% of total irrigable area)
2. Ground water resources 2101128 hectare.mtr
3. Utilized 14.79%
4. Major/ medium flow irrigation 122071thou.ha
5. Lift irrigation (minor) 347.39thou. ha
6. Flow irrigation (Minor) 454.49 thou.ha
7. Others 570.47 thou.ha

Fairs and Festivals
The state of Orissa is considered unique apart from other states of India due to a reason, i.e., here people celebrate more than 13 festivals in twelve months. The festivals of Orissa are designed in such a manner that it has relevance with science, spiritualism, history, mythology etc. One of the most amazing acts is that festivals and fairs of Orissa differ from one region to another. This also means that every festival is uniquely celebrated and makes the Oriya bonding even tighter.

In the temple of Lord Jagannath many festivals and fairs are celebrated where people of each caste, color and creed get a chance to participate. It is the Jagannath cult, which has shown the seeds fellow-feeling, not only in the soil of Orissa but also in soil of India. Through a number of fairs and festivals, Orissa gets a chance to extend its hands to human society for brotherhood, because Orissa soil believes in "Vasudheiba Kutumbakam".

Festivals
Durga Puja
Saraswati Puja
Ganesh Puja
Shiva Ratri
Janmastami
Kali Puja
Dolapurnima or Holi
Nua Khai
Sitala Sasthi
Car Festival (Ratha Yatra)

Fairs
Chandan Yatra
Snana Yatra
Bali Yatra
Dhanu Yatra
Konark Dance Festival
Puri Beach Festival

Industries
Orissa is one of the important states of India which is endowed with varieties of mineral resources. The mineral resources of Orissa have reputation for being qualitative for industries. The mineral resources of Orissa include Iron ore, Manganese, Coal, Bauxite, Dolomite, Tin, etc. Mineral resources have played an important role to make Orissa hot destinations for industries. Because of mineral resources big industries, like Rourkela Steel Plant, National Aluminum Company, National Thermal Power Corporation, have established their positions not only in India but also in world market. Besides those, reforms in infrastructure in recent years have created an atmosphere conducive for major industries of the world to look forward to Orissa as an epi-centre for industrial growth. In Eastern India, Orissa is really growing in real sense to become an industrial hub in the coming years.

Government of Orissa aims at creating and industry-enabling and investor friendly climate in the state with a view to accelerate industrial developments, employment opportunities and economic growth. IPR-2001 and Orissa Industries (facilitation) Act 2004 embodies the above objectives of Govt. Orissa has already emerged as a major investment destination for national as well as transborder national investors, especially in steel, aluminum, petrochemicals, power, IT and ITES, food processing industries, tourism and other such sectors.

Infrastructure Development
Government is in the process of formulating a robust public- private-partnership (PPP) policy to promote private investments in infrastructure development. Some successful efforts to initiate PPP projects include Paradeep Haridaspur Railway Link, Dhamra Port and Gopalpur Port etc. The state has already taken the initiative of promoting Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for attracting exports oriented industries and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Types of Industries Existing in Orissa
With the passing of times journey of industrial growth has taken a momentum within the Geographical periphery of Orissa. On the basis of investment the industries of Orissa are classified into following categories:

Large Scale Heavy Industries
Large Scale Industries
Small and Medium Industries
Handicraft and Cottage Industries
Khadi and Village Industries

Infrastructure
For economic development of any state, industrialization plays a vital role. But for creating a viable atmosphere for industries and corporate houses a sound and smooth infrastructure becomes top priority for the government. Keeping that sentiment in view the government of Orissa since few years has consistently tried to provide a fine tuned industry and investment friendly infrastructure. In that direction the government is becoming successful which is seen through a lot of major changes and improvements occurred in the fields of infrastructure. The most important agenda of government of Orissa has become providing the state best connectivity through roads, rail, sea, and air.

Roads
Rails
Ports
Inland Waterways
Social Infrastructure
Financial Infrastructure

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