Irrigation
Odisha is primarily an agrarian economy. The cropped area is about 87.46 lakh hectares out
of which 18.79 lakh hectares are irrigated. The weather favours a lot of crops, prominent being
rice, pulses, oil seeds, jute, roselle, sugarcane, coconut and turmeric are important crops. The
state government has launched number of short gestation projects like mega lift irrigation
projects, deep bore well, construction programme and check dam construction programme to
meet the irrigation needs of the farmers. The target is to bring an additional 10 lakh hectare of
cultivable land under irrigation cover by the end of 2019. Under Parvati Giri Mega Lift Irrigation
work of 171 mega lift schemes including upper indravati lift canal system have been taken up.
Industry
Most large-scale industries in the state are mineral based, while 25 per cent of the iron ore
reserves in the country. Odisha has been receiving heavy investments in the industrial sector in
recent years. Odisha emerged as a ‘Leader’ in Ease of Doing Business in the country and is
consistently ranked amongst the top 3 states in terms of attracting live manufacturing
investments in the country. The state also has one of the highest rates of implementation of
industrial projects in the country. Government has taken significant steps in terms of introducing
industry-friendly policy and regulatory framework to facilitate inclusiveness, encourage
innovation and achieve sustainable industrial development.
Transport
Roads: Government is implementing different schemes for providing better road connectivity
and building infrastructure in rural areas. During 2017-18, about 8,000 kilometres of rural roads
and 145 bridges on rural roads are targeted to be completed under different schemes such as Biju
Setu Yojana, Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, Pradhan Mantri Grama Sadak Yojana and
Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana. Government has achieved many milestones on road connectivity.
On an average, Works Department has improved about 2.1 kilometres of road every day and has
completed 20 major bridges every year. 343 bridges, 9 road over bridges, 3 fly overs have been
completed and 13,090 kilometres of roads have been improved since 2000.
Railways: Government is committed to improve railway density in the state. MoUs with Ministry
of Railways for two new projects namely 130 kilometers Jeypore-Malkangiri and 38 kilometers
Nabarangpur-Jeypore to bring rail connectivity for the first time to Malkanagiri and Nabarangpur
districts have been signed. Government has also offered sharing of 50 per cent of land and
construction cost for 32 kilometers of Puri-Konark Railway project.
Ports: Paradeep Port declared 8th major port of the country 1966 by Government of India. It is
the only major port in Odisha and the first major port ont he East Coast commissioned in
Independent India. With 480 kms of coastline Odisha has 13 potential sites for minor ports
development. These are located at Gopalpur, Behuda Muhan and Palur in Ganjam district,
Baliharchandi and Astaranga in Puri district, Jatadhar Muhan in Jagatsinghpur district, Inchri,
Chandipur, Bahabalpur, Kirtania and Bichitrapur (Talasari) in Balasore district and Dhamra and
Chudamani in Bhadrak district. Government of Odisha is making effort to develop a river port on
Mahanadi river near Paradip to boost coastal shipping. Inland Waster Transport (TWT) has vast
potential but a small network in Odisha. The passenger launch services are used in remote areas
where other modes of transport are generally lacking. Inland water transport services are
provided by the state government.