NITI Aayog CEO urges Odisha to speed up multi-city economic region project

Bhubaneswar: NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer BVR Subrahmanyam on Monday urged the Odisha government to expedite work for the development of an economic zone involving the state's capital and other cities like Cuttack, Puri and Paradip.

During a meeting with senior officers from the state government, he emphasised the development of the region as an integrated economic and urban development centre.

Chief Secretary Anu Garg was present in the meeting, officials said.

Subrahmanyam held discussions on the implementation of various schemes and programmes being undertaken by the Centre and the state government, with the goals to build "Viksit Odisha 2036" and "Viksit Bharat-2047".

The Bhubaneswar–Cuttack–Puri–Paradeep Economic Region (BCPPER) envisions one connected corridor—where cities align, institutions unite, and Odisha accelerates towards a bright, future-ready tomorrow.

Subrahmanyam also advised the state to have more value-added and processed forest products for the social and economic empowerment of the tribal community.

To meet the future needs of the youth in modern industries and service sectors, emphasis has been given to skill training in various educational institutions starting from schools, the officials said.

In the energy sector, detailed discussions were held on expediting the work for the use of clean and sustainable energy through new and renewable resources.

Plans and programmes were discussed to adopt low-cost, sustainable and clean energy systems, they said.

It is worth noting that an MoU was signed between NITI Aayog and ISEG Foundation in this regard.

During the meeting, discussions were held ways to accelerate the sustainable progress of the country by integrating new technologies, research and innovation through NITI Frontier Tech Hub.