By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s Investors’ Meet and Roadshow in Kolkata, held on January 17, 2026, appears to have been a strong success based on the immediate outcomes reported.
Led by CM Mohan Charan Majhi, the two-day event at ITC Sonar focused on sectors like steel, renewable energy, IT, pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, and manufacturing. It built on similar prior roadshows in cities like Hyderabad (which secured over Rs 67,000 crore in intents) and aimed to position Odisha as a key player in Eastern India’s industrial growth under the Purvodaya initiative.
Apart from Chief Minister Majhi, Industry Minister Sampad Swain, Chief Secretary Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretary Industry, Information and Public Relations and Home Hemant Sharma, CM Principal Secretary Saswat Mishra, CM Private Secretary Manoj Sahoo and other senior offcials were among those present.
Key highlights include:
MoUs and Investments: 27 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed, totaling Rs 81,864 crore in potential investments. These are projected to create 63,161 jobs.Additionally, 19 investment intent proposals worth Rs 18,453 crore were received, with the potential for another 27,591 jobs. Overall, this brings the total commitment to around Rs 1 lakh crore, unlocking opportunities for nearly 90,000 new jobs across high-growth areas.
Participation and Focus: Over 500 industry leaders, business associations, and stakeholders attended, with more than 130 one-on-one meetings and four sectoral roundtables (e.g., on textiles/apparels, metal downstream/engineering, plastics/chemicals, and pharma/medical devices).The CM emphasized shifting from “potential to performance,” highlighting Odisha’s strengths in infrastructure, ports (Paradip, Dhamra, Gopalpur), skilled workforce, and stable policies for value-added manufacturing.
Broader Context: This is part of Odisha’s aggressive push toward “Samruddha Odisha 2036” and “Viksit Bharat 2047,” following approvals of 343 large projects worth over Rs 7.1 lakh crore in the last 18 months (creating 4.65 lakh jobs) and inaugurations of 85 projects valued at Rs 2 lakh crore (1.65 lakh jobs).
As for whether it’s a gimmick or something Odisha will actually benefit from: The event doesn’t seem like mere optics, given the concrete MoUs and intents, which align with a consistent pattern of investor outreach (e.g., Hyderabad’s similar results translating to on-ground projects).
Success will ultimately depend on execution—CM Majhi himself stressed that MoUs are only as good as their ground-level implementation. If past trends hold (like post-Hyderabad follow-through), Odisha stands to gain significantly in industrial expansion, employment, and economic stability. No major criticisms or red flags emerged in reports or social discussions, though long-term realization of these pledges will be the real test.
