PM Unveils Projects Worth Over ₹50,000 Crore in Odisha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth more than ₹50,000 crore in Odisha, spanning telecommunications, railways, higher education, healthcare, skill development, and rural housing.

Highlighting a major boost to technical education, the PM laid the foundation for ₹11,000 crore infrastructure expansion across eight IITs—Tirupati, Palakkad, Bhilai, Jammu, Dharwad, Jodhpur, Patna, and Indore—to add 12,000 new seats over the next four years.

In the rail sector, Modi inaugurated the construction of a ₹273 crore rail flyover connecting Sambalpur City and Sarala, and unveiled plans for a semiconductor and electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) park in collaboration with IIT-Bhubaneswar.

The PM launched the MERITE (Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education) scheme to enhance quality, equity, research, and innovation in 275 state engineering and polytechnic institutions nationwide.

Under the Odisha Skill Development Project Phase-II, ₹1,979 crore will be invested to establish world-class skill centers in Sambalpur and Berhampur, focusing on emerging sectors like agritech, renewable energy, retail, marine, and hospitality. Additionally, five ITIs will be upgraded to 'Utkarsh ITIs', 25 ITIs will become Centres of Excellence, and a new Precision Engineering Building will provide advanced technical training.

To improve digital education, the PM dedicated Wi-Fi facilities across 130 higher education institutions at a cost of ₹90 crore, offering free daily data to benefit over 2.5 lakh students.

In healthcare, Modi unveiled a ₹3,000 crore master plan to upgrade MKCG Medical College in Berhampur and VIMSAR in Sambalpur into world-class super-speciality hospitals. The enhancements will include increased bed capacity, trauma care units, dental colleges, maternal and child care services, and expanded academic infrastructure.

The Prime Minister also flagged off the Amrit Bharat Express connecting Berhampur to Udhna in Surat district, Gujarat, and dedicated the doubling of the 34-km Koraput-Baiguda rail line and the 82-km Manabar-Koraput-Gorapur section, built at a cost of ₹1,400 crore.

In the telecommunications sector, Modi commissioned over 97,500 4G towers developed with BSNL’s ‘swadeshi’ technology, with an investment of ₹37,000 crore.

The PM also distributed sanction orders to 50,000 beneficiaries under the Antyodaya Gruha Yojana, which provides pucca houses and financial aid to vulnerable rural families, including persons with disabilities, widows, terminally ill patients, and natural disaster victims.

This marked Modi’s sixth visit to Odisha since the BJP assumed power in the state in June 2024, underscoring the government’s focus on accelerating Odisha’s development across diverse sectors.