The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the opposition party in Odisha, expressed its concerns on Friday regarding the state’s investment achievements, particularly emphasizing the low foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow. This scrutiny comes in light of numerous investor meetings held both domestically and internationally over the last two years.
According to BJD spokesperson and media coordinator Lenin Mohanty, data from the central government revealed that Odisha secured just Rs 39 crore in FDI in 2024-25, representing a mere 0.009% of the nation’s total FDI for that year. He pointed out that this statistic raises doubts about the state’s ability to convert the numerous investment proposals it has announced into actual financial inflows.
Mohanty noted that investor meetings were conducted in various cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Gujarat, Singapore, and Japan within the past two years.
During the Utkarsh Odisha summit in Bhubaneswar in January 2025, the state government claimed to have received investment proposals totaling Rs 16.73 lakh crore and signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 12.89 lakh crore. Similarly, after an investor meet in Hyderabad, the government announced proposals amounting to Rs 67,000 crore. However, Mohanty questioned the actual realization of these proposed investments.
He also pointed out that several significant projects initially proposed under the previous administration have either stalled or relocated from Odisha, citing the example of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel’s steel project at Kendrapara, JSW’s electric vehicle initiative at Naraj, and other semiconductor and textile projects.
Moreover, Mohanty highlighted a decline in Odisha’s industrial growth rate, which dropped from 9.6% in 2023-24 to 7.9% in 2024-25. He also noted that the state’s standings in terms of start-ups and exports have worsened.
The BJD is calling for a transparent account of how many of the proposed investments have been successfully converted into tangible projects, alleging that the government’s claims regarding investments have yet to be reflected in real-world outcomes.
