In a major culinary push to promote the state through its rich and cultural heritage, government of Odisha has launched an initiative to promote authentic Odia cuisine across the country. The plan, a part of Odisha’s tourism policy, which was recently amended in alignment with the state’s Vision 2036 plan, is a policy move to place tourism as a catalyst for sustainability, cultural pride and global competitiveness. Odisha Tourism has offered incentives such as capital expenditures up to Rs 5 crore and operational expenditure for three years to draw private investors to set up such restaurants. Officials familiar with the…
Author: P Das
The Central Government on Sunday informed said that about 6,000 piped gas consumers have surrendered their LPG connections in the last three days, while 2.9 lakh new PNG connections have been activated this month. The news comes as a relief and ease pressure on cylinder stocks amid disruption of energy supplies due to the West Asia conflict. The move follows Centre’s direction to all ministries to assess the potential demand for piped natural gas (PNG) across canteens and pantries at govt departments and offices, and pushes for its expansion. It had also urged govt establishments, residential colonies and canteens to…
Amid escalation of war in West Asia, Union minister of state for petroleum Suresh Gopi informed Parliament on Monday that India’s strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) are 64% full. At current consumption rates, this stock would last about five days, he added. India has “SPR facilities with a total capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil at three locations in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which can act as buffer for short-term supply shocks,” Gopi said. Currently, the reserves hold around 3.37 MMT of crude (24.7 million barrels), he added. India consumes about 5 million barrels of oil per…
It’s official. Bhubaneswar is all set to host the prestigious World Athletics Indoor Championships 2028, in a first not just for Odisha but also the country. The Kalinga Stadium Sports Complex indoor facility, the spotlight for the sporting extravaganza scheduled to be held on March 28, was selected after an inspection by a two-member World Athletics team in January this year. The selection is also a testament to Bhubaneswar becoming the sporting destination for track and field athletics in India. It is noteworthy to add that apart from the 2017 continental event, the Kalinga Stadium hosted the World Athletics Continental…
The ongoing West Asia crisis has raised concerns over several commodities including fertilisers, triggering fears of food security. With several urea companies in India either shutting down their plants or moving up annual maintenance after Qatari supplies of liquefied natural gas, a key feedstock, were suspended, speculations are rife on India facing shortages of fertilisers, a major backbone of the country’s agricultural infrastructure. Fertilisers are among the most globally traded commodities. Since their production is heavily dependent on natural gas, phosphate rock, and potash—resources concentrated in a handful of countries, a disruption of these supply lines due to the ongoing…
In a bid to promote community‑based tourism, support local entrepreneurs and create sustainable livelihood opportunities in rural and semi‑urban areas, the government of Odisha recently launched the Go Homestay Portal. The portal, a part of the state government’s efforts to promote rural development, seeks to transform local homes into guest accommodations by preserving cultural heritage, and expanding tourism beyond traditional urban centres. Homestays are intrinsic to Indian culture long before it took the shape of structured tourism. Rooted in the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’(the guest is akin to God), Indians accommodated visitors, pilgrims and travellers in private homes, dharamshalas and community spaces, often referred to as sarais. The belief…
As the war between US, Israel and Iran entered 15th day, amid Middle East crisis, Indian assets dropped on Thursday and the rupee fell to a record low. The rupee fell 0.3% to 92.3575, eclipsing its previous lifetime low of 92.3475 hit earlier in the week. Experts have warned that the continuing slide of the Indian rupee against the US dollar will have implications that may go far beyond national macroeconomics. For the unversed, currency depreciation results in the demand for more rupees to buy one dollar. The demand affects trade, investment, prices and government finances. However, for a state…
Odisha, along with many other states across India, is likely to witness an unusually long summer and irregular rainfall this year, mostly in April and May, said IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra recently. Sonepur, Titilagarh, Bolangir, and Bhawanipatna are already recording temperatures over 35°C in the first week of March 2026. As the state braces up for a long and prolonged summer this year, climatologists, while blaming the condition on climate change, have warned that it will also affect the seasonal crops. Climate change is rapidly emerging as a core economic challenge for Odisha, which till date is largely dependent…
Bhubaneswar, March 7: The Odisha government has collected revenue worth Rs 6754.96 crore from export of iron ore during the financial year 2022-23 to 2024-25. According to official data, the State has collected a total revenue of Rs 683.98 crore during the financial year 2022-23, which was increased to Rs 3596.62 crore in the financial year of 2023-24. During the last fiscal year, the State has earned a total revenue of Rs 2474.36 crore. The State dispatched 134.57 million tonnes (MTs), 167.61 MTs and 169.01 MTs of iron ore during the financial years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, respectively. Of these…
Odisha, which till recently, was dependent on coal-based power generation and traditional electricity infrastructure, is rewriting history in the energy sector by diversifying its resources and moving on to solar power to build a more sustainable power system. Taking full advantage of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, the state has not only combined environmental goals with economic pragmatism but has also inspired other states to follow its policy on solar energy. The case in point is Delhi. Recently, government of Delhi announced that it is studying Odisha’s Utility-Led Aggregation (ULA) model to formulate a new solar policy in the…