Trajectories of Development

Trajectories of Development: Odisha@100 offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary and interpretative analysis of Odisha’s tryst with the economic, social and governance challenges through policy and parastatal initiatives since the state’s formation in 1936 to the present day. Positioned within the global debates on uneven regional growth, the volume examines Odisha’s recent economic resurgence while probing its distributional, ecological and social implications.

The book traces the Indian state’s historical antecedents―marked by colonial exploitation and disparate functioning of the myriad princely states―and its transformation into a formally unified subnational entity. Sector-specific chapters analyse agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and services, complemented by district-level insights. The volume explores developments in education, health, and demography, and examines possibilities of emerging frontiers of tourism, and tribal economy. Additional chapters assess poverty, unemployment, food security, fiscal management, disaster governance, neglect of natural resources, displacement, distress migration, unfolding of media, and roles of private and civil society actors.

This volume will benefit scholars of development studies, economics, political economy, regional planning, and public policy, as well as practitioners and administrators of development. Readers will gain a nuanced, empirically grounded understanding of Odisha’s developmental journey and a forward-looking roadmap as the state approaches its centenary in 2036.

Amarendra Das is an Associate Professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, NISER Bhubaneswar, and founder of its DST–Centre for Policy Research on Energy Transition. He previously served as Deputy Director in the 14th Finance Commission and taught at Utkal University. He was the secretary of the Odisha Economic Association during 2018 to 2023. He received the Global Development Medal in 2009. He holds an MA from Utkal University and an MPhil and PhD from CDS–JNU.

Keshab Das is Visiting Professor, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi; Adjunct Professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi; and Director, Centre for Research in Regions & Development, Bhubaneswar. With M.Phil. (Applied Economics) and Ph.D. (Economics) degrees from Jawaharlal Nehru University (through Centre for Development studies, Trivandrum) he is a recipient of the VKRV Rao Prize in Social Sciences (Economics). He is the Editor-in-Chief of Odisha Economic Journal and a former President of Odisha Economic Association.

Deepak K Mishra is a Professor of Economics at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His recent books include Global Poverty: Rethinking Causality (co-edited, Brill, 2023) and Internal Migration in Contemporary India (edited, Routledge, 2026).

Udaya S Mishra, a Statistician/Demographer is professor in the dept of Epidemiology and Bio-statistics at the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai and formerly professor at the Centre for Development Studies Trivandrum, Kerala. He is engaged in research and teaching on population and development issues with a number of national and international publications to his credit.