Orissa

Orissa, formed on 1st of November 1956, under the States Recognition Act, is an Indian State located at the east coast, the Bay of Bengal. Oriya is the official and the most popular language spoken in this ninth largest state (area) and eleventh largest (population) in India. Though the state has an unindented coastline yet it has a dearth of good ports, except the facility at the Paradip Port. The coastal strip of Orissa is densely populated, whereas the inner regions are mountainous, and are therefore sparsely populated.

Orissa houses the Hirakud Dam, one of the longest dams in the world. It is a tourist's delight, with many historical places, temples, etc. to visit. Some of the most visited tourist spots include Ranipur-Jharial, The Hypaethral Temple, Inchudi, Kaliakata, Kuchai and Kuliana, Vikramkhol (Bikramkhol), Prehistoric Cave Painting Sites (Gudahandi, Simlikhol, Ushakothi and Yogimath), Famous Temples (Ananta Vasudeva Temple, Charchika Temple, Jagannath Temple {Puri}, Konark Sun Temple, Lingaraj Temple{Bhubaneswar}, Mausimaa Temple, Mukteswara Temple, etc.)

As mentioned earlier, the majority of the inhabitants of the state speak Oriya, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan Branch of the Indo-European language family, and closely resembles Bengali and Assamese. Some ancient languages belonging to the Dravidian and Munda language family are also spoken by the tribals, who are the original inhabitants of the state. Rich in culture and tradition, the state has a lot to boast about. Bhubaneswar, the capital city is a home to many ancient temples that increase the scenic beauty of the place. Strong influences of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism can be seen in the religious traditions. Odissi dance form and music is an important segment of the rich Indian Music and Dance heritage. The dance has been in practice for the past 2000 years and finds a mention in the Natyashastra of Bharatamuni, which is believed to be written around 200 BC.

Orissa is rich in natural resources, and contains about one fifth of India's coal reserves, one fourth of the iron ore, one third of bauxite reserves and large amounts of chromite. The first integrated steel plant run by the public sector in India, was in Rourkela, in Orissa (Rourkela Steel Plant). The state also receives investments in steel, aluminium, power, refineries and ports. Some of the most reputed companies world over like Satyam Computer Services, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), MindTree Consulting, Hexaware Technologies, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Infosys, IBM, Syntel, Bosch and Wipro have large branches and are setting up development centers in Orissa.

Orissa was the first industrial state to privatize electricity transmission and distribution. At present, the number of companies, which have signed the memorandum of understanding for setting up new steel plants have considerably gone up. Large and multi billion projects are in the pipeline and an industrial boom is on the cards.