Orissa lies on the eastern coast of India between 17.15’ and 22.45’ in the North latitude and between 81.45’ and 87.50’ in the East longitude. The state is bound by Jharkhand on north, West Bengal on the northeast, and Chhatisgarh on the west, Andhra Pradesh on the south and the Bay of Bengal on the east. The state lies in a sub-tropical geo-climatic region with vastly varied topography. The Northern Plateau and upland region is a continuation of the Chottanagpur plateau in Jharkhand. The Central tableland in the heart of the state mostly consists of fertile valleys, plains and hilly lands. The Eastern Ghat region of uplands is dissected by steep-sided mountain ranges with canyons, fertile inter-mountain valleys and high plateau: The Coastal belt is a diverse spread of marshy deltaic tracts, cultivable alluvial plains, broken hills and undulating tracts that ascend to the tablelands. Six major rivers (the Mahanadi, the Baitarani, the Subarnarekha, the Budhabalanga, the Brahmani and the Rushi Kulya) that flow through this zone down to the Bay of Bengal make the belt most fertile with ample irrigation potential.

The land area of Orissa is 155,707 Sq. Kms., which is 4.74 per cent of the total land area of India. In terms of physical size, it is the 10th largest state in India. Amongst the districts in the state, Mayurbhanj with the land area of 10,418 sq. kms ranks first position (6.69 per cent to the total area of the state) while Jagatsinghpur with the land area 1,668 sq. kms ranks the lowest position (1.70 per cent to the total area of the state).

Orissa is one of the least urbanized states in India. As per the 2001 census, the rate of urbanization is 14.97%, which is only higher than Assam and Bihar among the major States. Amongst the districts in the state, the lowest degree of urbanization (having less than 5% urban population) is in the district of Nayagarh 4.29% and the highest degree of urbanization is in the district of Khurda 42.93 %. 15 districts have urban population below 10% and 5 districts have urban population above 25%.

Agriculture sector absorbs about 80 per cent of the total work force and contributes 50% of State’s domestic product. Paddy is the “principal” crop. Its cultivation is the main occupation of 75% of the people.

This is against all India average annual rate of growth of 7.4% in GDP during this period. The Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) commonly known as State Income increased from Rs. 16,184.30 crores in 1993-94 to Rs. 25,178.31 crores in 2004-05. The per capita income has increased to Rs. 6555 in 2004-05. 

Orissa has been one of the most natural disaster-prone states of India. Floods and droughts regularly devastate the State and cyclones are common. Frequent occurrences of natural calamities stand as a barrier to economic progress of the state.    

Administrative Divisions

Administratively Orissa has 3 revenue divisions, 30 districts, 58 Sub-divisions, 171 tehsils and 314 community development blocks. There are 105 local bodies, 31 towns, 6235 Gram Panchayats and 51, 124 villages. Bhubaneswar is the State Capital.

Natural Resources

About 98.39% of India’s chrome ore, 95.11% of nickel ore, 70.39% of bauxite, 26.50% of iron ore and 24.37% of the coal, 29.94% of manganese and 43.38% of graphite deposits of the country are found in this mineral rich State. The State has also abundant water resources constituting 11% of the country is total with eleven river basins. The total ground water resource assessed during 2000-01 was 21.01 lakh hectare meters, of which 14.79% has been harnessed. Orissa has a long coast line of 480 km along with the largest brackish water lagoon (Chilka) measuring 79,000 ha. The forest-cover (including tree cover) was estimated at 34.2% of the total geographical area of the State in 2001 according to the State Forest Report of the Forest Survey of India. The total cultivable land of the State is nearly 65.59 lakh hectares, of which only 26.89 lakh hectares was covered under irrigation by the end of 2003-04. It implies that prudent exploitation and optimum utilisation of minerals, land, water and other resources including human resources holds the key to rapid socio-economic development of the State.