Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg Friday said growth must remain inclusive, environmentally sustainable and institutionally robust to transform Odisha into a developed state.
Garg was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day conclave ‘Vikash Manthan 1.0 – Governance in Action’, organised by the Planning and Convergence Department in collaboration with the Odisha Centre of Integrated Development (OCID) in Bhubaneswar.
Garg articulated the state’s ambitious roadmap to transform Odisha into a high-income, inclusive, climate-resilient and innovation-driven economy by 2036, coinciding with the centenary of its statehood and aligning with India’s 100 years of Independence in 2047.
She highlighted that Odisha’s GSDP (gross state domestic product) at current prices is estimated at Rs 9.9 lakh-crore in 2025-26, reflecting a 9.5 per cent increase over the previous year, while the real growth rate of 7.9 per cent surpasses the national average.
The state’s per capita income has nearly tripled over the past decade, rising from Rs 64,835 in 2015-16 to Rs 1,86,761 in 2025-26, she pointed out.
The industrial sector, contributing over 41 per cent to GSVA (gross state value added), is driven by robust manufacturing expansion, while the services sector is projected to grow at 9.3 per cent, Garg stated.
“Women empowerment initiatives such as Subhadra and the Lakhpati Didi scheme are strengthening our grassroots economic participation,” she added.
Emphasising that fiscal strength must translate into measurable development outcomes, the top bureaucrat underlined that growth must remain inclusive, regionally balanced and environmentally sustainable.
Development Commissioner Deoranjan Kumar Singh described Vikash Manthan 1.0 as a ‘Gyana Yagnya’, a confluence of thinkers, policymakers, implementers and scholars committed to generating transformative ideas for Odisha’s progress.
Emphasising India’s civilisational ethos as a cultural and spiritual nation, he remarked that such collective deliberations would churn out policy ‘Amrut’ to guide the state’s development journey.
PTI