Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Over the years Odisha is grabbing the headlines for the unrest over land acquisition for industrial projects due to which the state is not in the top-5 states that saw flocking of large private investments in the pandemic hit year.
According to the recent SBI’s ‘Projects Today’ report, in the Financial Year 2022, new private investments announced in Odisha has been worth Rs 65,402 crore. The State has been placed at 7th nationally. With an enormous Rs 2.32 lakh crore investments flocking to Gujarat in the last 9-months, the western State topped the list. In the top-5, the other states are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh. The state of Telangana is placed at 6th.
As per the reports, the rise of Uttar Pradesh eclipsing mineral-rich Odisha has led to the popping up of more eyeballs. The State has fallen from the grace, post the POSCO fiasco and is yet to gain the industrialisation mojo. Riding on POSCO, Odisha had emerged as the top preferred destination for private industrial investments a decade ago.
The SBI report further added that UP has seen an inflow of Rs 86,151 cr private investments in the last 9-months. The biggest state of India saw the announcement of 444 industrial projects vis-a-vis 336 projects in Odisha.
