Odisha Talent, What the State Produces

I run executive searches across India. When I look for senior technical talent, I find Odisha-origin engineers and technology leaders across every major company and city, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Singapore, the US. What I don't find is those same people working in Odisha.

Odisha produces more technical and professional talent than its local economy absorbs. Most of it leaves. That is a choice, not a destiny.

I grew up here. I have placed people from here. This pattern is not a coincidence, it is a structural story worth understanding.

One of the underappreciated facts about Odisha is the volume of technical and professional talent it produces annually. The state's educational infrastructure is larger and stronger than its economic profile would suggest, and the talent that comes out of it has been absorbed primarily by opportunities outside the state rather than within it.

Understanding what Odisha produces, and where it goes, is relevant both for companies hiring in India and for the longer-term question of what kind of ecosystem the state can build.

The institutional base

KIIT University (Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology) in Bhubaneswar is one of India's largest private universities by enrollment, with approximately 30,000 students enrolled across all programs. Its engineering and technology programs, the largest component of the campus, produce a substantial annual cohort entering the workforce. KIIT has been consistent in its engineering output over a long period and has developed alumni networks across Indian industry.

IIT Bhubaneswar, while newer than the older IITs, produces graduates with the institutional brand that opens doors in elite technology and research contexts. As it matures and its alumni base grows, its network effects will compound.

NIT Rourkela is one of India's older and more established National Institutes of Technology, with a reputation particularly strong in core engineering disciplines, metallurgy, mechanical, civil, that are relevant to the industrial base of Odisha and eastern India. Its alumni are spread across Indian manufacturing, engineering services, and technology companies.

IIIT Bhubaneswar and Silicon Institute of Technology, alongside a number of other private engineering colleges, add further volume to the technical graduate output.

Beyond engineering, Utkal University (one of India's oldest), Ravenshaw University in Cuttack, and the medical colleges associated with SCB Medical College and AIIMS Bhubaneswar produce graduates in humanities, sciences, law, and medicine.

What the talent is like

Odia graduates entering the workforce tend to have specific characteristics that are worth naming directly.

They have been formed by constraint. The educational infrastructure in much of Odisha, outside of the elite institutions, is resource-limited. Students who succeed through this system have done so through persistence and self-direction, not through the advantages of highly resourced learning environments. This produces a certain grit and problem-solving orientation.

They are often underconfident in self-presentation relative to their actual capability. This is a known pattern for talent from second-tier cities and states, the social norms around self-promotion are different, and the professional socialisation that builds presentation skills happens more organically in larger metropolitan ecosystems. For hiring organisations willing to evaluate capability directly rather than through presentation proxy, this gap represents an opportunity.

They are often deeply loyal to organisations that treat them well. This isn't an ethnic generalisation, it reflects the fact that talent from smaller cities and states has often had fewer options and treats a good opportunity with genuine commitment.

Where the talent goes

Most of the technical talent produced in Odisha leaves the state. The immediate destinations are Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai, the established technology employment centres. Many also join companies in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and abroad.

This diaspora is significant in size and geography. There are substantial Odia professional communities in every major Indian technology hub. In Bengaluru in particular, the Odia engineering community is large enough to sustain informal networks, alumni associations, and professional connections.

For companies hiring in India, this diaspora is accessible through standard channels, LinkedIn, campus recruiting at the source institutions, Odia professional networks. The talent is not hidden. It is simply not top of mind for most organisations whose sourcing instinct is to look first at Bengaluru and the graduates of the most prominent IITs.

The return question

A growing number of Odia professionals who built their careers outside the state are now considering return. The reasons are a combination of pull and push: Bhubaneswar's improving urban quality, the cost of living advantage relative to Bengaluru and Hyderabad, remote work enabling location flexibility, and in some cases, a genuine desire to build or contribute in the state they came from.

This returnee population is one of the most valuable talent segments for companies building in Odisha. They bring the professional experience and network density of the larger technology ecosystems, combined with local knowledge and personal investment in the state's development. Reaching them requires deliberate outreach through Odia diaspora networks and an honest pitch about what building in Odisha makes possible that building elsewhere doesn't.

See also: Why Should Companies Hire From Odisha?, Bhubaneswar: Can It Become an AI City?, The Odisha Skill Premium, Salt, Steel, and Silicon

Sources

LinkedIn Talent Solutions: India Talent Insights: Engineering and Technical Roles

NASSCOM: Future of Work: India Tech Talent Report

McKinsey Global Institute: India's Turning Point: An Economic Agenda for the Decade