Collection
Development, tourism, culture, and the untapped potential of a remarkable state.
13 pieces
OdishaEconomic growth is necessary for development. But it is not a definition of it. Odisha has been growing. The harder question is what that growth has actually built.
OdishaThe debate in Odisha is Metro vs MRTS. That is the wrong question. The right question is: what transport system does a multi-city $500 billion economy actually need?
OdishaIndia has world-class pharmaceutical clusters in Hyderabad, Pune, and Ahmedabad. Eastern India has none. That gap is also an opening — and Odisha is positioned to claim it.
OdishaTwo thousand years ago, Kalinga controlled Indian Ocean trade from the eastern coast of India. The geography that made that possible has not changed. What we have done with it has.
OdishaMore than 30% of Odisha's SGDP comes from mines and minerals. When the reserves run out — and they will — what exactly are we leaving behind?
OdishaThe conditions are more favorable than the current conversation suggests. The window is also shorter than people realize.
OdishaThe state I grew up in has more going for it than most people realize — and a widening gap between what it is and what it could be.
OdishaOdisha has the inputs for a different trajectory. Whether it takes that trajectory is a question of policy, investment, and will.
OdishaThe state I grew up in shaped how I think about ambition, possibility, and the gap between potential and outcome.
OdishaThe geography of where you start is more arbitrary than you think. And less limiting than people told me it would be.
OdishaFor a state that gets most of its press coverage during disasters, there are things it is doing better than the narrative suggests.
OdishaWhen someone from outside sees your home for the first time, you see it differently too.
OdishaPeople sometimes ask why I spend so much time talking about a state most of the world cannot find on a map. The answer is about identity and responsibility.