Odisha needs to diversify its export base, move towards high-value mineral processing and strengthen district-level industrial ecosystems to sustain economic growth and achieve its development goals by 2047, former NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Friday.
Addressing a discussion on ‘Viksit Odisha: Progress, Prospects and the Road to 2047’, organised by Pahlé India Foundation (PIF) at Vivanta Bhubaneswar, Kumar said the state should increase its merchandise exports from the present $11 billion to $100 billion by 2036.
The chairman of the Pahlé India Foundation, Kumar, emphasized the necessity of converting Odisha’s mineral resources into higher-value industrial output through the integration of mining with port facilities and the promotion of rare-earth magnets, green steel, green aluminum, and green hydrogen.
He pointed out that only 2% of Odisha’s merchandise exports come from the bottom 15 districts, whereas 83% come from eight districts. He suggested a district-level plan that combined the One District One Product program, a worldwide anchor customer, a common processing facility, and road or rail connectivity to a port in order to alleviate this regional imbalance.
With the state’s demographic advantage expected to remain favourable until 2036, Kumar emphasised the need to equip young people with skills aligned with emerging industries. Highlighting Odisha’s economic expansion over the past two decades, he said sustained nominal growth of 10 per cent annually could help the state attain developed-economy status by 2047, with per capita income reaching around $18,000. Achieving this target would require high-value mining, green metals, global anchor firms and the integration of less-developed districts into global value chains, he added.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg, who attended the programme as the chief guest, said Odisha had drawn up a vision document targeting a $500-billion economy by 2036 and a $1.5-trillion economy by 2047, in alignment with the national goal of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Outlining the state’s development strategy, Garg highlighted the EDGE framework—Economic Strength, Demography, Geography and Ecosystem—as a key approach to achieving the targets.
