Once a barren stretch of land, Kalinganagar has, over the past decade, grown into a thriving industrial hub with seven steel units, including Tata Steel’s eight-million-tonne plant.
About 25km from the Chennai–Calcutta national highway, the township now hums with activity round the clock as blast furnaces, coal-handling units and transport links feed and support steel production. Tata Steel’s Kalinganagar plant in Jajpur district is driving much of this transformation.
Major steel units have triggered the growth of ancillary industries, employing young men — mostly tribals — from nearby villages. Small businesses such as tea stalls, hotels and pan shops have emerged as a parallel economy supporting scores of families. Transport, too, is now a thriving sector, with hundreds of trucks moving in and out of the town carrying raw materials and finished goods.
The transformation of Kalinganagar, once a tribal-dominated hinterland, is now nearly complete. A media trip to Kalinganagar was organised by Tata Steel.
“The face of the area has changed in the last two decades. Industrialisation has transformed lives. There has been a definite shift from agriculture to industries. This change has been for the better. Even I have now cement, hardware and hotel businesses,” said Biswanth Sahu, 55, a local businessman.
Industrialisation began taking shape in the early 1990s when former chief minister Biju Patnaik pushed the idea of a steel hub. He invited British-Indian industrialist Swaraj Paul to set up a plant, though it did not materialise. Momentum picked up after Naveen Patnaik became chief minister, with the state signing MoUs with various companies, including Tata Steel.
The land acquisition process for Tata Steel’s plant began in 2005 but was marred by resistance and delays. It eventually took nearly a decade to commission the first phase with a three-million-tonne capacity.
CEO and managing director of Tata Steel, T.V. Narendran, said: “The establishment of Tata Steel Kalinganagar (TSK) holds a unique place in the history of Tata Steel. It represents a new era — one where we combined a century of experience with a vision for the future, creating a living blueprint for Indian manufacturing.”
He added: “Over the past decade, Kalinganagar has demonstrated how growth, technology and sustainability can work in harmony to build lasting value. Today, as we celebrate this 10-year milestone… For many years, the rich mineral resources of Odisha primarily served as raw material sources for the Jamshedpur plant. TSK fundamentally altered this dynamic by bringing large-scale steel production directly into Odisha.”
A senior Tata Steel official said Odisha has now become the company’s largest investment destination, receiving over ₹100,000 crore in cumulative investment in the past 10 years.
“Its impact is now visible. It has led to a series of economic activities. The development has positively impacted every section of the society. We have even taken care of transgenders and are also focusing on the economic activities of local tribals through women cooperative from displaced families of Tata Steel Project,” the official said.
Members of Navjeevan Co-operative Limited, formed by women from displaced families, say industrialisation has opened up new income avenues. “We have formed a group and now more than 200 women have benefited by selling different art works including Saura paintings, wall hangings, saree weaving and multi utility items like conference files, folders, jute bags and mobile cover. We earn around ₹8000 per month. The company buys all our products and helps in participating various exhibitions being held at different parts of the country,” one member said.
Residents who gave land for the plant say compensation has brought stability. Khirod Mohanta, assistant manager (sports), Tata Steel, said: “We gave the company our land for which we have been suitably compensated monetarily and also with a job in the project. Our children now are enrolled in English medium schools and we have enough to eat. We could not have asked for more.”