Orissa - Culture Snapshot

Content
 History of Orissa
 Geography of Orissa
 Demographics of Orissa
 Politics of Orissa
 Culture of Orissa
 Language
 Tourism
 Tribes
 Food and Clothing
 Religion
 Economy of Orissa
 Natural Resources of Orissa
 Investments in Orissa
 Social Indicators of Orissa
 Hurdles to Business in Orissa
History of Orissa
 Orissa has a history spanning a period of over
3,000 years.
 Ruled by Kalinga, Kosala and Utkala dynasties.
 The Mughals conquered Orissa in 1576.
 The coastal section was separated from Bengal
and made into the Province of Bihar and Orissa
in 1912, in response to local agitation for a
separate state for Oriya-speaking peoples.
 In 1936, Bihar and Orissa were split into
separate provinces.
Geography of Orissa
 Orissa lies in its eastern coast.
 Ninth largest state of India.
 Area: 155,707Sqkms
 Forest Land: 58,13,547 sq km (31% - Highest in
India).
 Surrounded by Jharkhand in north, West Bengal in
north-east, the Bay of Bengal in east, Andhra
Pradesh in south and Chhattisgarh in west.
 Capital city – Bhubaneswar.
 Other major cities of the state include Puri, Cuttack,
Sambalpur and Rourkela.
 Major rivers – Mahanadi, Brahmani, and Baitarani.
Demographics of Orissa
 Total population of Orissa is 36,706,920.
 18,612,340 (50.89%) are male and 18,094,580
(49.11%) are female.
 972 females per 1000 males.
 Urban Population – 15%, Rural Population – 85%
 The literacy rate is 63.61% with 75.95% of males and
50.97% of females being literate.
 Below the poverty line in 1999–2000 was 47.15% which
is nearly double the all India average of 26.10%.
 Scheduled Castes and Tribes form constituting 38.66%
of the State population.
Politics of Orissa
 Caste politics have a deep root in the
political structure.
 From grassroot politics, Brahmins have a
upper hand.
Famous People
Sanjukta Panigrahi – classical
Danseuse

Mira Nair – Film Director

Famous People Contd.
Manoj Das - Writer

Sam Pitroda – Inventor,

Policy maker
Culture of Orissa (Languages)
 Language – Oriya.
 Dialects – Midnapori, Balasori, Ganjami,
Desiya, Halbi, Bhatri, Sambalpuri,
Kalahandi, Singhbhumi.
 Because of the different dialects spoken in
the state, there is a high regional divide.
 There is a voice for separate state
comprises of 9 districts of Western Orissa
(Kousal) due to lack of development work
by state government.
 Investors should keep this in mind during
the resource recruitment plan.
Culture of Orissa (Tourism)
 Known as a State of Temples.
 Well known temples are Jagannath
Temple, Lingaraj Temple, and Konark
etc.
 Major tourist attraction is the dance
form Odissi.
Culture of Orissa (Tribes)
 Adivasis constitutes around 25% of the
total population.
 Primarily resides in the forest areas, where
active mining and industrialization takes
place.
 This led to many conflicts. Major examples
are POSCO and TISCO – Kalinganagar
conflict.
 In addition to this the naxals have a close
relationship with the tribes.
 Investors should be aware of the possible
conflicts.
Culture of Orissa (Food & Clothing)
 Rice is the staple food.
 While majority of the population are Hindus
and prefer vegetarian food.
 Dhoti and Saree is the customary clothing.
 Women wear a specific hand loomed Saree
known as Sambalpuri Saree.
 Meher’s caste have a mastery in this art
and are world famous for their suryamukhi
design.
Culture of Orissa (Religion)
 Religion, 94.6% of the population is Hindu,
2.4% is Christian, 2.1% is Muslim.
 Embracement of Christianity by Tribal
population led to major conflicts between
Hindus and Christians (Missionaries).
 Example – Hindus – Christians riots in
Khandamal district.
 Graham Stain’s Murder – Dara Singh.
Economy of Orissa
 Agriculture is the mainstay contributing
about 28.13% in 2001-02
 Agriculture provides direct and indirect
employment to around 65% of the total
workforce of Orissa much above the all-
India figure of 57.4 per cent.
 Industrial sector accounts for a mere 9.1
per cent of the total workforce
Natural Resources of Orissa
 Orissa accounts for about 17 per cent of India's iron ore
reserves
 Due to its mineral wealth and strategic location it
attracts foreign investment in steel, aluminum, power,
refineries, and infrastructure.
 Olive ridley sea turtle, thick mangrove swamps, and rich
commercial fish stocks have attracted people to the
Orissa coastline
 Coast is threatened by destructive fishing practices,
water pollution by toxic effluents, illegal aquaculture,
and the negative fallouts of coastal infrastructure like
offshore oil and gas exploration and port development
Investments in Orissa
 Orissa Economy is witnessing unprecedented
investment, both domestic and foreign.
 US$50 bn is expected to be invested in the
state for building steel and aluminum
producing capacity, power projects, ports, and
other infrastructure.
 Orissa is also a major outsourcing destination
for IT (Information Technology) and IT services
firms because of the presence of the
educational institutes like XIM, KIIT, NIT, IIT-
K, and Vendata University etc.
Social Indicators of Orissa
 Orissa's per capita income for 2003 was Rs 12,388
against the all-India average of Rs 23,359
 Orissa's poverty rate for 1999-2000 was the
highest among all States at 47.15 per cent
 Human Development Index ranking was 11th.
 Literacy rate in the State for 2001 was 63.08 per
cent against India's 65.20 per cent
 Annual growth rate of output for 1993-94 to 2003-
04 was 1.75 per cent significantly lower than the
average for the country at 6.19 per cent
Hurdles to Business in Orissa
 Environmental concerns and land
acquisitions for some of these projects
have been opposed by the local people
 Religious Unrest
 POSCO is facing land acquisition
problem.
 Naxals create problems for upcoming
industries in Orissa
Thank You !!!