The Odisha government on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, approved 27 major industrial projects with a cumulative investment of ₹2,47,115.70 crore across 15 districts, with the potential to generate 50,162 jobs. The clearances were granted at the 46th meeting of the High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), held in Bhubaneswar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

Sectors Covered

The approved projects span a wide industrial canvas: data centres and artificial intelligence, power and energy, steel, semiconductors, green energy, lab-grown diamonds, green hydrogen, healthcare, chemicals, textiles, shipbuilding, and advanced manufacturing. The breadth of the approvals signals a deliberate push to diversify Odisha's industrial base beyond its traditional steel and mining identity.

IT and Data Centres Lead Investment

According to the official statement, a standout feature of this HLCA round is the scale of commitment in the technology sector. Four projects in IT, ITES and data centres together account for a combined investment of approximately ₹1,42,941 crore — the single largest investment segment among the 27 approved projects, and nearly 58% of the total outlay. This comes amid intensifying competition among Indian states to attract hyperscale data centre investment, driven by rising domestic cloud demand and the AI infrastructure build-out.

Power, Diamonds and Semiconductors

Four projects in power and renewable energy carry a combined investment of ₹54,287.70 crore and are projected to create 5,300 jobs. Odisha's growing footprint in lab-grown diamond manufacturing is reinforced by five new projects worth a combined ₹10,680 crore, which are expected to employ 8,850 people. On the semiconductor front, SICSEM Pvt Ltd will establish a silicon carbide wafer and gallium nitride manufacturing facility in Khordha with an investment of ₹2,078 crore, generating 1,200 jobs. Separately, Larsen & Toubro Ltd will invest ₹2,100 crore in an advanced fabrication and manufacturing complex in Ganjam, creating 1,000 jobs.

Districts in Focus

The 27 projects are distributed across Anugola, Bhadrak, Kataka, Debagada, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Kendrapada, Khordha, Koraput, Nuapada, Puri, Rayagada and Sundaragada — a geographic spread that suggests an intent to distribute industrial activity beyond the state's more developed coastal belt.

What the Chief Minister Said

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said the government's focus extends beyond headline investment numbers. 'Our focus is not only on attracting investment, but also on creating quality employment, building future-ready infrastructure and ensuring that the benefits of industrialisation reach different regions of the state. We will continue to provide a transparent, responsive and investor-friendly ecosystem to make Odisha a preferred destination for both domestic and global investors,' he said.

The 46th HLCA approvals follow the momentum generated by the Utkarsh Odisha investors' summit earlier this year. How swiftly these projects move from clearance to ground-breaking will be the real measure of the state's execution capacity.