Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday said Odisha has emerged as a leading state in the country through strong leadership, clear policies and collective resolve, as the state govt pursues the “Bikashita Odisha—Bikashita Bharat” vision over the past 20 months.Speaking at “Vikas Manthan 1.0: Governance in Action” at the Lokseva Bhavan Convention Centre, Majhi said the campaign is focused on economic growth, social transformation, infrastructure expansion and cultural revival.He also praised the Odisha Centre for Integrated Development (OCID) for co-organising the programme, saying such discussions are needed to provide clear guidance for building a prosperous Odisha.Majhi said Odisha’s economic growth rate this year is 7.9%, higher than the national rate. He said the state attracted nearly Rs 20 lakh crore in investments in the last 20 months, with foundation stones laid for 109 projects worth Rs 2.4 lakh crore, creating around 1.76 lakh jobs.He said Odisha received national recognition in ease of doing business and that new policies were prepared for electronics, artificial intelligence, global capability centres and semiconductors, with the govt aiming to make Odisha a digital and industrial powerhouse.The chief minister said the state budget is set to exceed Rs 3 lakh crore for the first time. He said the current budget allocates Rs 72,100 crore for infrastructure development, amounting to 6.5% of GSDP, and that Odisha’s debt rate is the lowest among larger states at 13.6%.On welfare measures, Majhi said more than 1 crore women achieved financial independence through the ‘Subhadra’ scheme, with about 17 lakh women becoming ‘Lakhpati Didis’.In education, he said 45,000 kindergartens opened and over 20,000 teacher posts were filled. Under the first phase of the Godabarish Model Primary School Scheme, 2,200 schools are being set up at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore.Similarly, in health, he said a proposal of Rs 23,182 crore is in place for 2026-27, and that 3.47 crore people from 1.03 crore families are benefiting under the Ayushman Bharat–Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana.Majhi said the state aims to provide piped water to all villages by March 2027 and to grow the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Region (BCPPER) economy to $500 billion by 2047.More than 500 policymakers, officials and experts participated in the 2-day state-level conference. Chief secretary Anu Garg and development commissioner and additional chief secretary Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh were among those present.
