Odisha, which is celebrating its statehood status on April 1, started its journey with the creation of a separate province on April 1, 1936, with a budgetary provision of just Rs 1.77 crore.

The extent of progress the state has made can be gauged from the fact that it has made a budgetary provision of Rs 2 lakh crore for the year 2022-23. The state has taken giant strides in almost all areas and it is now fully self-reliant in rice production and several other fields.

A source in the finance department said: “The total expenditure of the state that included both revenue and state capital expenditure was budgeted at Rs 1.77 crore in 1936-37.”

While the first budget was placed at the Municipal Council Hall at Puri, the second was tabled at the Ravenshaw College Hall, Cuttack.

Since the beginning of its journey as the first state to be set up on linguistic basis, Odisha has marched ahead in different fields particularly in becoming one of the leading states in attracting investments and has also emerged as a major education hub in eastern India. It has also become a major IT hub. Odisha, which was set up with six districts, now has 30 districts and is still able to keep intact its cultural identity.

“There is definitely growth in the industrial sectors, particularly in the large scale industries. But to build a robust economy, the state needs to focus on the development of the MSME sector,” president, Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Brahmananda Mishra, told The Telegraph.

Former President, UCCI Ramesh Mohapatra said: “In order to attract industrialists to set up their industries in the state, we need to activate the single window clearance system. On the occasion of Utkal Diwas on April 1, we need to deliberate on it.”

Besides industrialisation, the state has made a big jump in the field of education both in engineering and medical. The state’s first premier college was set up in the form of Ravenshaw College (founded in 1868) in Cuttack. The state’s first university — Utkal University was established in 1943.

“At present, the state turns into an educational hub with the educational institutions par excellenceAIIMs, IIM and IITs. Similarly a number of good private educational institutions have come up in the state. However, we need to focus on process oriented teaching,” said an eminent educationist Pritish Acharya, adding that Odisha being a peaceful state has been able to attract people from outside.

Politically,too, Odisha has emerged as one of the most important states in the country.

With chief minister Naveen Patnaik emerging as a powerful regional satrap no major political party or formation at the national level can afford to ignore the state. Patnaik, the leader of Biju Janata Dal BJD), state's longest surviving regional party, is one of the longest serving chief ministers of the country who enjoys huge popularity. With him at the helm no one can afford to take Odisha lightly now.