Addressing a press meet in Bhubaneswar, BJD’s national spokespersons Dr Santrupt Misra and Dr Sasmit Patra said that Odisha has recorded phenomenal growth in all areas ever since the regional party came to power in the state.

Claiming that the state has posted spectacular growth in industrial as well as farm sector, they said this has been possible due to the able leadership, vision, and strong will of the Chief Minister.

The flow of investment has also increased phenomenally due to infrastructure development in the state, the BJD leaders said.

Speaking on the performance in different spheres, Misra said that the contribution of the industrial sector to the state’s economy has gone up to 41.3 per cent, compared to the national average of 28.5 per cent. This shows that the performance of Odisha is around 50 per cent ahead of other states in the industrial sector.

Similarly, the share of exports has increased from 2.2 per cent in 2016-17 to 4.1 per cent, a jump of almost 1.8 per cent, he said, adding that the gross manufacturing value add has gone up from 2.99 per cent in 2011-12 to 4.2 per cent.

Noting that 1860 industrial projects were approved in the last five years, Misra said the state received investments to the tune of Rs 11.63 lakh crore creating employment opportunities for over 7.33 lakh people during the period.

Huge employment opportunities have been created in districts like Khurda, Balasore and Jajpur as the new investors setting up ventures in Odisha are hiring from within the state, the BJD leaders said.

Foreign investment flow is increasing because of trust in the state government, they said, adding that the state has attracted investments to the tune of Rs 1.85 lakh crore in the last seven years, while more than one lakh employment opportunities have been created. More employment opportunities have been created in Khurda, Jajpur and Balasore.

As per a report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Odisha has received investment of over Rs 20 lakh crore, highest in the country after Maharashtra.

The delegation visiting the US includes Minister of Electronics and IT Tusadrkanti Behera, MP Sujit Kumar, development commissioner Anu Garg, 5T secretary VK Pandian, principal secretary of IT department Manoj Mishra, sports secretary R Vineel Kishna and IT special secretary Manas Panda. The team will return on July 31.

During their visit to Silicon Valley in California, the delegation will hold meetings with leading IT companies of the world including Apple, Google, Meta, Visa and Chevron. The digitalisation of state administration and its application in various welfare schemes are in the agenda of the meeting.

With the state government making budget allocation for own fibrenet, the delegates will seek investment from the companies in this regard. Besides, construction of own fibrenet grid and laying its network are likely to feature in the discussion.

The delegates will attend a dinner with non-resident Odias in Crown Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto city of California state on July 28. Around 1,000 non-resident Odias have been invited to the gala dinner where the delegation will also seek their cooperation in digital drive of the government.