By Nageshwar Patnaik in Bhubaneswar, August 1, 2026: The Mohan Majhi government in Odisha is leaving no stone unturned in wooing investment from across the sectors and genders. The latest move is to draw women into the industrial eco-system. The state government on Friday secured fresh investment commitments worth ₹913.13 crore with the signing of 13 MoUs with women entrepreneurs across diverse sectors.

The investment commitments, formalised during an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Indian Women Network (IWN) in Bhubaneswar, are expected to generate 4,302 direct employment opportunities. The proposed investments span a wide range of high-growth sectors, including sustainable agriculture and agribusiness, food processing, agritech, steel, renewable energy equipment, garment manufacturing, biotechnology, manufacturing, agro-processing, hospitality, fisheries supply-chain infrastructure and the assembly of motors, pumps and allied products.

Among the largest proposed investments, Odyssey Leisure Pvt Ltd has committed ₹350 crore for hospitality projects in Koraput, Kendrapada and Mayurbhanj districts, with the potential to create 600 jobs.

World Hotels Pvt Ltd has proposed a ₹100 crore hospitality project in Koraput, generating 200 jobs, while Amiha announced a ₹100 crore investment in sustainable agriculture and agribusiness in Kalahandi, expected to employ 120 people.

Biotechnology firm Elmentoz Research Pvt Ltd will invest ₹80 crore in a biotech project in Khordha, while Saha Steel Group committed ₹60 crore for a steel project in Angul. Other proposals include food processing, garment manufacturing, renewable energy equipment, manufacturing, agritech and fisheries-related infrastructure across four districts.

Anu Garg, chief secretary, said women are the backbone of families, the foundation of society and the driving force behind India’s progress, asserting that the vision of Viksit Bharat can only be realised when women are empowered to learn, innovate, build enterprises and contribute equally to the country’s economic transformation.

“The state government is committed to making women equal partners in industrial growth, innovation and entrepreneurship,” she said, highlighting flagship initiatives such as Mission Shakti, Subhadra, women-centric skilling programmes and livelihood initiatives that enable women to graduate from self-help groups and micro-enterprises to sustainable businesses.

Odisha’s new industrial landscape is being shaped by entrepreneurs who innovate without boundaries, with women emerging as leaders of this transformation said Hemant Sharma, additional chief secretary of the Industries, Home and Information & Public Relations departments. “The government’s responsibility is to remove barriers and ensure aspiring women entrepreneurs have equal access to finance, markets, opportunities and mentorship,” he added.

Organised under the theme “Shakti ru Samruddhi” (Strength to Prosperity), the event brought together industry leaders, investors, members of the CII Indian Women Network and women entrepreneurs.

Chitra Arumugam, additional chief secretary of the Science and Technology Department, said innovation, technology and entrepreneurship would drive Odisha’s next phase of economic growth. “Initiatives such as Startup Odisha, technology-led incubation, innovation support, MSME promotion and ease-of-doing-business reforms are helping women innovators convert ideas into scalable enterprises,” she said, and urged aspiring entrepreneurs to leverage the state’s innovation ecosystem.

The registration of women entrepreneurs in the state has grown more than eightfold over the past six years, rising from 49,454 in 2020-21 to 405,719 in 2025-26. The state now has more than 1.44 million women-led MSMEs. As many as 124,682 enterprises led by women were registered in the last financial year alone.

The MoUs were exchanged on behalf of the government by Aboli Sunil Naravane, managing director, Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (IPICOL), Deepankar Mohapatra, tourism director, and Pooja Mishra, biotechnology director.