www.thestatesman.com | FOLLOW US: India’s National Newspaper since 1818 @TheStatesmanLtd | Pages 16 @thestatesmanltd | ` 5.00 People’s Parliament, Always in Session thestatesman1875 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI | 13 September 2026 From the mines of Keonjhar to the AI labs of tomorrow How Mohan Charan Majhi’s UAE mission is attempting to redraw Odisha’s economic map-and build a partnership that reaches far beyond investment g r e e n e n e r g y, c r i t i c a l And Majhi himself chose Three-Day UAE Outreach: At a Glance minerals, petrochemicals, to lead that pitch. 8 Total One On One meetings : 26 8 Total Round table : 6 8 Total Tound Table Participants: 160 8 Total MoUs signed:8 8 Total Investment Intents (IIFs): 16 8 Cumulative proposed investment: ₹2,42,162crore 8Cumulative employment potential: 6,18,725 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Bhubaneswar, 12 September: F rom the iron- ore rich belt of Keonjhar to the AI laboratories of tomorrow; from the aluminium ambitions of Rayagada and Kalahandi to the green- energy corridors of a changing world; from the ports of Paradip to the skyscrapers glitz of Dubai—Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has carried a new proposition for Odisha to the United Arab Emirates. It is a proposition that goes beyond the familiar story of Odisha as India’s mineral powerhouse. The UAE outreach, which concluded in Dubai, was in many ways an attempt to tell the world that Odisha’s next chapter will no t b e written only in mines and steel plants. It Primary sectors: Travel and Tourism,Logistic, Finance, Processed Food, Critical minerals & rare earths; metals & mining; aluminium & steel downstream; chemicals & petrochemicals; green energy; LNG; IT & ESDM; AI & data centres; food processing; logistics; infrastructure; healthcare; tourism; real estate; circular economy; ship repair; fertilisers; propellant manufacturing and other emerging sectors will be written in artificial intelligence, data centres, advanced manufacturing, A Chief Minister carrying a new Odisha abroad M a j h i ’s UA E v i s i t wa s remarkable for the breadth of the conversations he personally pursued. In Abu Dhabi, he sat across the table with the leadership of International Holding Company, Adani G ro u p re p re s e n t a t ive s, major business verticals and investment institutions. He met UAE Minister of E c o n o my a n d To u r i s m Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri. He engaged with Borouge, one of the major names in the petrochemical industry. In Dubai, he moved from large industrial proposals to technology, logistics, tourism, housing, green energy, AI, data centres, ship repair, financial investment and processed food. It was an unusually broad canvas for a State whose investment stor y has historically been dominated by mining , metals and an MoU was signed to explore 14 additional projects with an indicative investment of ₹2,10,500 crore. The proposed portfolio includes metal downstream industries, slurry pipelines, critical minerals and rare e a r t h s, c h e m i c a l s a n d petrochemical derivatives, renewable-energy equipment, h e a l t h c a re , i n d u s t r i a l infrastructure, tourism, skill development and sports infrastructure. The proposed integrated The UAE discussions also sought to deepen Odisha’s petrochemical ambitions. M a j h i ’s m e e t i n g w i t h Borouge CEO Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi was aimed at exploring a large-scale c h e m i c a l s d ow n s t re a m complex in Odisha, potentially l i n ke d t o I n d i a n O i l C o r p o r a t i o n’s p ro p o s e d naphtha cracker at Paradip. This is another example of the broader strategy. Paradip is not being viewed merely as a port. It can aluminium project itself carries geographical significance. Land has been proposed for an alumina refinery in Kalyansinghpur tehsil of Rayagada and an aluminium smelter in Sadar Sundargarh.In other words, Odisha’s mineral belt is being presented not simply as a place from which minerals can be extracted, but as a potential location for integrated industrial ecosystems.That is a potentially transformative The real measure of the UAE proposition. visit will therefore come in the months and years ahead, when proposals have to travel through land acquisition, approvals, infrastructure creation, financing and construction before becoming factories, data centres, hotels, logistics hubs and energy projects. and indirect employment potential of 6,18,725. When the estimate d 2,7 7,000 jobs expected during the constr uction phase are added, the overall employment potential rises to nearly 8.96 lakh. But the numbers, impressive as they are, tell only part of the story. The more revealing story lies in what Odisha managed to put on the table. A partnership, not merely a series of MoUs This perhaps is the most important distinction in Majhi’s UAE mission. The Chief Minister has sought to frame the relationship not merely as a hunt for investment but as a long-term partnership between Odisha and the UAE. Manufacturing. Trade. Te c h n o l o g y. E x p o r t s . I n n ova t i o n . Skills. Entrepreneurship. Infrastructure. These are the building blocks of the relationship that the State is trying to establish. The agreement with the Indian Business and Professional Group is important in this context. It seeks to strengthen commercial links, facilitate become the anchor for an e x p o r t s a n d g e n e r a t e entire industrial chain—from feedstock to petrochemicals to downstream manufacturing. Similarly, aluminium is no T h e r e wa s a l s o a n longer being viewed simply u n m i s t a k a b l e p e r s o n a l through the lens of mining e l e m e n t t o t h e C h i e f bauxite and producing primary Minister’s mission. metal. The emphasis is Fo r a C h i e f M i n i s t e r increasingly on downstream making only his second products and value addition. foreign visit, the scale of The larger objective is to the outreach was ambitious. make Odisha a place where Majhi did not restrict resources enter an industrial h i m s e l f t o c e r e m o n i a l ecosystem and emerge as engagements. He personally higher-value products. participated in roundtables, investment interest, while creating avenues for Odisha’s highly skilled professionals. The diaspora too has been brought into the picture. More than 800 Odias gathered in Dubai to welcome Majhi, turning an investment mission into an occasion of cultural reaffirmation. Odissi and traditional folk performances, along with Odia cuisine, brought a little of Odisha to Dubai. Majhi’s interaction with the community carrie d another message: the global Odia community is not m e r e ly a n e x p a t r i a t e population. It can become a bridge between Odisha and the world. The personal touch one-to-one meetings and discussions with business leaders and government representatives. His pitch was dire c t: Odisha has natural resources, competitive energy, strategic ports, industrial infrastructure and a skilled workforce. What it now wants is to combine these advantages with global capital, technology and markets. The Chief Minister also sought to assure investors that the State government would provide what investors value perhaps as much as incentives—speed, certainty and execution. That promise will now have to be tested on the ground. powerful presentations to the investors while Odisha government’s readiness to roll out the red carpet was exemplified by the presence of the chief secretary Anu Garg and Industries Minister Sampad Swain. The real journey begins now 8 An MoU is a beginning, not an industrial project. 8 An investment intent is a possibility, not a factory. Traditional products. The UAE engagement with the Indian Business and Professional Group sought to create avenues for these products to enter the UAE market, while also exploring contract manufacturing for UAE brands and opportunities logistics, clean energy and future industries. Odisha, on the other hand, brings land, p ower, p or ts, industrial infrastructure, natural resources and a large pool of human capital. Majhi’s prop osition is essentially to connect these two worlds. The State can provide the industrial base and infrastructure. International partners can bring capital, te chnology, managerial expertise and access to global markets. The result could be an Odisha that is simultaneously a manufacturing centre and a technology destination. foreign visit to Singapore, Majhi entered the UAE with an ambition Aluminium, petrochemicals and the Paradip connection Tourism, logistics, food: an Odisha beyond heavy industry There was another important departure from the traditional i n v e s t m e n t narrative.Tourism featured prominently. So did logistics, financial services, housing, healthcare, processed food and ship repair. For a State with a long coastline, forests, temples, tribal heritage, wildlife and a rapidly expanding urban economy, this diversification could be significant. The discussions on processed food and exports are particularly relevant because they connect Odisha’s d i s t r i c t s d i re c t ly w i t h international markets. Turmeric. Ginger. Seafood. On only his second overseas visit as Chief Minister, after his maiden And then, AI Perhaps the most striking feature of the UAE outreach was that the Chief Minister did not allow Odisha’s mineral identity to define the entire conversation. AI and data centres were part of the pitch. So were renewable-energy equipment, green energy, rare ear ths, advance d manufacturing and other emerging industries. This is where the Odisha-UAE relationship could acquire a strategic dimension. The UAE has b e en heavy industry. The underlying message aggressively positioning itself was unmistakable: Odisha as a global hub for artificial wants to add value to what intelligence, technology, it possesses and acquire a stake in what the future will possess. That distinction matters. From digging out minerals to building value chains For decades, Odisha’s mineral wealth has been both its greatest economic strength and the source of a persistent question: how much of the value generated by those resources remains within the State? Majhi’s UAE pitch appears to have an answer—move decisively downstream. The expanded engagement with IHC and the Adani Group is central to this strategy. Building on the integrated aluminium project, tourism, logistics, processed food and global supply chains. considerably larger than a conventional investment roadshow: to establish a durable economic bridge between Odisha and one of the world’s most powerful centres of capital, t e c h n o l o g y, t r a d e a n d global business. The numbers that followed were striking. The five - day outreach produced a proposed inve stment pip eline of 2,43,162 crore, with direct for skilled professionals from Odisha. The investment story, therefore, is beginning to move in both directions. Capital can come to Odisha. O d i sh a’s p ro d u c t s, entrepreneurs and talent can go to the world. The real measure of the UAE visit will therefore come in the months and years ahead, when proposals have to travel through land acquisition, approvals, infrastructure creation, financing and construction before becoming factories, data centres, hotels, logistics hubs and energy 8Yet every major economic transformation begins with a proposition. 8 Majhi’s proposition in the UAE was that Odisha is ready to think bigger. 8 Bigger than mines 8 Bigger than primary metals. 8 Bigger than a conventional industrial investment pitch. projects. It is an Odisha that wants its mineral wealth to feed downstream industries; its ports to connect global supply chains; its energy advantage to power green industries; its young workforce to participate in technology; its tourism potential to attract international visitors; its farmers and producers to reach overseas markets; and its cities to become centres for AI, data and advanced services. That is why the image of this UAE visit is perhaps best captured not by a single MoU or a single investment figure, but by a journey—from the mines to the AI labs of tomorrow. For Odisha, he appears determined to make it the beginning of a much longer journey into the global economy with Viksit Odisha by 2036 at his heart. Additional chief secretary Hemant Sharma, widely considered as the architect of the entire exercise made Advertorial