Odisha to Get Defence Manufacturing Ecosystem: CM

• CM Majhi announces plans for a defence manufacturing hub in Odisha, focusing on MSMEs and skilled workforce
• 13 MoUs signed, attracting ₹27,650 crore investment and creating 15,905 jobs in sectors like defence and pharma
• Utkarsh Odisha-2025 leads to ₹4.38 lakh crore in investments, creating 2.5 lakh jobs and boosting industrialisation

Recently, the Chief Minister of Odisha, Mohan Charan Majhi, proclaimed the establishment of a staunch defence fabrication ecosystem in the state, principally enlightening MSMEs, startups, skilled manpower, and precision manufacturing.

The CM went along providing the updates on his latest two-day roadshow in Hyderabad, which was targeted to make Odisha's presence stronger in the Indian defence and space sector production territories that are fast growing. The start of missile component manufacturing in Odisha was one of the points that the discussions took place during the visit.

Majhi, together with higher-ups, also paid a visit to Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), the foremost defence manufacturer. The roadshow allowed the Odisha delegates to conduct 73 meetings at the top level, in addition to two roundtable discussions specific to the sectors—one dealing with pharmaceuticals and comprising eight major companies, and the other with 27 firms related to defence.

The sectors have not yet reached their potential development stages in Odisha but the CM remarked that the strong investor interest shown during these talks was a sign of a good change.

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Majhi had personal meetings with a total of 38 industrialists in order to check the possibility of putting money in different sectors that comprised of such as pharmaceuticals, defence, renewable energy, electronics, textiles, and advanced manufacturing.

The event was attended by over 500 industry leaders and business groups, thereby greatly enhancing investor trust in the state. The roadshow culminated in the signing of 13 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) involving an amount of ₹27,650 crore and thereby generating 15,905 direct jobs.

Moreover, nine investment intentions were submitted, thereby potentially opening up the ₹39,131 crore worth of investments and 40,435 jobs. The total amount committed due to the roadshow is ₹66,781 crore thus facilitating the generation of 56,340 job opportunities.

Majhi also charted the course for the industrial transformation to happen at a fast pace by announcing future events such as Enterprise Odisha in Rourkela (January 2026) and an industrial conclave in Kolkata. Since the launch of Utkarsh Odisha-2025, there has been an approval of projects worth ₹4.38 lakh crore which have in turn provided over 2.5 lakh direct jobs.

The Chief Minister pointed out that Odisha's victory was due to unambiguous policies, better infrastructure, and personal monitoring of prime projects, resulting in an economy transition from mineral-based to diversified, value-added, and employment-generating one.