The site https://themetrorailguy.com/ has information on

• Metro rail (existing and planned) across India: https://themetrorailguy.com/metro-rail-p...-in-india/ 
  
• Semi High Speed Rail across India
  
• High Speed Rail and bullet trains across India: https://themetrorailguy.com/high-speed-r...-in-india/
  
• Expressways across India: 
  • https://targetkicker.com/article/Express-ways-in-India 
    
    
  • https://themetrorailguy.com/ 
    

Following is linked to a Sambada article. 

Following is linked to a Sambada article https://sambadepaper.com/imageview_26106..._1_sf.html .

20832/20831 Sambalpur-Shalimar-Sambalpur Tri-Weekly Express via Talcher 

Following is from https://pragativadi.com/puri-jaleswar-pa...-tomorrow/

Quote:20832/20831 Sambalpur-Shalimar-Sambalpur Tri-Weekly Express via Talcher and Bhadrak will leave Sambalpur at 1910hrs (07.10p.m.) on every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursdays w.e.f. 3rd January, 2023 and will leave from Shalimar at 2125hrs (09.25p.m.) on every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays w.e.f. 4th January’2023.

New Jaleswar-Puri passenger train.

Following is an excerpt from https://pragativadi.com/puri-jaleswar-pa...-tomorrow/

Quote:08416/08415 Puri-Jaleswar-Puri Passenger will leave Puri at 1315hrs (01.15p.m.) towards Jaleswar w.e.f. 31st December’2022 and will leave Jaleswar at 0450hrs (04.50a.m.) towards Puri, daily, w.e.f. 1st January, 2023.

Earlier Bhubaneswar had blight connectivity to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Th Bangkok flights stopped in the 4th quarter of 2019 and the KL flights stopped during the pandemic. See https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing for the passenger numbers prior to that.

As per the latest news Odisha government has approved a bid by Indigo regarding connectivity to Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai. Following are excerpts from https://kalingatv.com/state/direct-inter...swar-soon/ .

Quote:Direct flight operation to international destinations Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok will commence soon from Bhubaneswar. The proposal got the nod of the State Cabinet today in the meeting.

As per reports, it was proposed in the cabinet that it is necessary to make Odisha a leading State in the field of international flight operations. ...

A RFP was floated for selection of a suitable airline operator in this matter. M/s lndiGo has applied for its operation through these routes.

As a result, 186 seater flights will be operated from BPI Airport, Bhubaneswar and the expenditure will be borne by the State Government towards this flight operation while the revenue generated through ticketing will be retained by State Government.

From https://themetrorailguy.com/ and https://themetrorailguy.com/economic-cor...-in-india/ we get the following list:

• EC-15 Raipur-Vizag economic corridor: https://themetrorailguy.com/nhai-raipur-...ap-status/ 
  
• EC-28 Sambalpur – Paradeep Economic Corridor
  
• EC-31 Sambalpur – Ranchi Economic Corridor
  

Following is excerpted from https://themetrorailguy.com/nhai-raipur-...ap-status/ .

Quote:Raipur – Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor – Information & Status Update

464 km Raipur – Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor (NH-130CD & EC-15), also known as Raipur – Vizag Expressway, is an approved 6 lane access-controlled road by NHAI with a route alignment through Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Construction of this greenfield corridor will be financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) under Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I program with a primary goal to improve the efficiency of freight movement and boost exports.

Following was a thread posted on 30th November 2022

https://twitter.com/Odishalinks/status/1...9803722752

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
Welcome to Bhubaneswar. I wonder if U knew that greater BBI has 24 universities/univ-like-inst. More than in Mumbai or Pune and similar in # to Hyderabad and Bengaluru. 
@InvestInOdisha 1/n


Replying to
@Odishalinks
@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
This includes an IIT, NISER (DAE funded IISc like institute), an AIIMS, 1st Jesuit Univ. in India (XIM Uni), one of 10 selected private inst. of eminence (KIIT), ...
@InvestInOdisha 2/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
4th and 6th best private univ/inst. in India - NIRF 2022 (SOA University & KIIT), a univ. by the Birlas (Birla Global U), a univ by Sri Sri Ravishankar (Sri Sri U) ...
@InvestInOdisha 3/n

a women's university (RD U) - alma-matter of honorable President Murmu, flagship state univs (Utkal, Odisha Univ. of Agriculture & Tech, IIIT, National Law Univ of Odisha, Ravenshaw), AIPH - a univ. by a Prof. in US whose work was highlighted in NY Times ...
@InvestInOdisha 4/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
It also has an array of research institutes, 6+ medical colleges, 50+ engineering colleges, etc. However, its biggest claim to fame is its Skill Dev. Institutes. ...
@InvestInOdisha 5/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid In the Skill India compt. 2021, out of a total of 61 Gold, 77 silver, 53 bronze, & 79 medallion;  Odisha led with 10 Golds,  18 silver,  9 bronze &  14 medallion. ... 
@InvestInOdisha 6/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
  In the 2022 World Skills Competition 9 out of 58 participants are from Bhubaneswar: 5 trained at CV Raman Global Univ, 2 at SDI, and 2 at CTTC, all in Bhubaneswar ... 
@InvestInOdisha 7/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
PLUS Mr. @skilledinodisha has created a buzz about skill dev. in the state, made the state ITIs top notch & est. several new  ones including a World Skills Center. ...
@InvestInOdisha 8/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
You may be thinking: Wow! We did not know all this. Perhaps we should be setting shop in BBS. But how good are the K12 schools for our family needs. Ask no more. ...
@InvestInOdisha 9/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
As per https://educationworld.in/ew-india-schoo...-in-india/  the #1 (In India) Co-ed Day-cum-Boarding School is Sai School Bhubaneswar, so also #11 (ODM), and #15 (DAV CSpur) in that catgr. ...
@InvestInOdisha 10/n


@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
  #12 in Co-ed boarding is Sai Residential CTC, #17 in Int'l Day Cum Boarding is KIIT Int'l School, and other branded schools include DPS, Loyola, Multiple DAVs, ...
@InvestInOdisha 11/n


@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
Mother's Pub. School, St. Josephs Girls, Aditya Birla Pub School, GD Goenka School, the home grown star DN Wisdom Tree Global School, & many more ...
@InvestInOdisha 12/n


@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry 
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
You will ask: What about the govt. policies, incentives, & essentials (water, power). The government officials will tell u that. There is plenty Water & Power. ...
@InvestInOdisha 13/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
You will then ask: What do I do on off days? No worries. Just look at the geographical & historical map around Bhubaneswar. Rivers, beaches, hills, lakes ... abound.
@InvestInOdisha 14/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry 
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
Historical sites (how far back you want to go? 250 BC ok?), museums, temples, volunteering opportunities, are also plenty. ...
@InvestInOdisha 15/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry 
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
May be you want to pay a visit a heritage craft village https://outlookindia.com/outlooktravelle...-of-odisha ...
@InvestInOdisha 16/n


@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
Or immerse yourself among the birds where the hunters became the protectors. https://telegraphindia.com/culture/trave...id/1715725 ...
@InvestInOdisha 17/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
  Or may be go into the learning mode and learn about the tribes of India https://bhubaneswartourism.in/museum-of-...hubaneswar , about Netaji Subhas Bose https://indianvagabond.com/2019/03/01/ne...m-cuttack/ ,  ...
@InvestInOdisha 18/n

@rnivruti
@Prativa_M
@AjaiChowdhry 
@dhawan_atul
@amit_sharm1
@SatyaGuptaVLSI
@rajandroid
  Maritime traditions of Odisha https://indianvagabond.com/2019/02/22/od...m-cuttack/ , or dive into the old  manuscripts http://magazines.odisha.gov.in/Journal/j...orhj-6.pdf at the state museum. 19/n

========= Then the following two tweets were made to point others to the above thread.

@aniljoshi1
@rajendrakmishra
@shantimohan
@padmajaian
@prembartha
@deveshcozentus
@madversity
Hi Start-up gurus. Welcome to Bhubaneswar. See my thread https://twitter.com/Odishalinks/status/1...9803722752 to better understand what Bhubaneswar has to offer. cc
@InvestInOdisha

@manojmishrasays
@btushar02
@InvestInOdisha
@Naveen_Odisha
@AprajitaSarangi
@dpradhanbjp
@AshwiniVaishnaw
@BBSRBuzz
@nilambarrath
@achyuta_samanta
@MrutyunjaySuar
@BCKIC
  Why IT &  Manufacturing companies should come to the greater Bhubaneswar area?  See
https://twitter.com/Odishalinks/status/1...9803722752

Published with permission from the author.

Quote:How Odisha Is Emerging As A Hotspot For IT Businesses

Professional services are on the rise and executive spending power has boosted the state’s economy and the state is truly now a "Destination of the Future" with the growing scale of investment, talent pool and ambition


By Manoj Mishra

Very few states in India have undergone such profound changes as Odisha in the past decade. The state has radically transformed and expanded and enormous growth has been the hallmark of the state. The state is marching ahead with renewed confidence towards a new Odisha adopting new ideas, innovation and entrepreneurship. Odisha is now fast emerging as a technology resource hub of India.

Professional services are on the rise and executive spending power has boosted the state’s economy and the state is truly now a "Destination of the Future" with the growing scale of investment, talent pool and ambition.

One thing Odisha has in abundance is even more room to grow. More startups and young creatives are to be found than before now boosting the state’s burgeoning ecosystem for business growth.

IT sector is an area where Odisha is gaining national attention. Odisha today stands among the major states of India that are contributing to the economy through Information Technology. Software exports from the state are also recording consistent growth over the years and today the IT exports from the state have touched to about Rs 7500 crore per annum. Apart from this, the ITES, BPO, KPO and Electronics sectors are also growing due to the various incentives provided by the government.

As part of its marquee 5T Initiatives which have become the backbone of the state’s transformative journey, the Odisha government has increased spending on Information Technology and Digital Initiatives.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recently inaugurated IBM’s client innovation centre (CIC) at O-Hub, Chandaka Industrial Estate in Bhubaneswar, further emboldening the IT ecosystem in the state.The new centre will position Odisha as a technology resource hub of India.

The innovation centre will have a capacity of 500 employees as the company is looking to expand its capacity to serve global clients outside India. It will create opportunities for existing employees and also enable the company to harness potential talent including graduate hires from the technical educational ecosystem in Odisha.

PwC further opened its first office in Odisha with which it aims to tap into the multiskilled talent pool of the state and neighbouring regions. This expansion isin line with the firm’s commitment to create 10,000 additional jobs in the country.

The recently concluded ‘Make In Odisha’ conclave further spotlighted Odisha’s transformation as the ultimate IT destination. More than 15 IT majors have given consent to open their facilities in the coming months.

The ‘Ease of doing business and efficient policy initiatives have made Odisha a formidable destination for modern technology companies in the eastern part of India. While all major IT companies have a long presence in the state, international organizations such as IBM have moved to the state because of its futuristic policy initiatives. To further complement the policies, the readily available infrastructure that includes land, uninterrupted power, water, bandwidth, air, rail and road communication facilities, talent pool and above all the best facilitation mechanism are the reason the state is attracting investments from across world.

Introduced in 2021, the Odisha Electronics Policy 2021 has also the best available incentives for investments in the Electronics and Electronics System Design and Manufacturing sectors. This promotes Odisha as an attractive destination for the electronics industry as well as promote electronics manufacturing in the state by offering a congenial, proactive industrial, and industry-friendly climate with leading infrastructure, policy initiatives, and supporting facilities. The Policy coupled with a skilled workforce aims at creating a favourable ecosystem for the growth and development of the Electronics industry in Odisha.

The state has unveiled a New ICT Policy 2022 with a vision to transform Odisha into a leading destination of investment for IT. The policy has specific incentives for IT parks. Twenty five per cent of fixed capital investment will be provided as capital subsidy limited to Rs 20 crore. Greenfield IT parks will be eligible for 100 per cent reimbursement of stamp duty, registration fees and conversion fees. The policy standout in offering additional incentives for companies investing in frontier technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Security, Extended Reality (XR), Automation, Blockchain, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), Cleantech, Edu-tech, Agri-Tech, Health-tech and other emerging technologies.

Also, the government has rolled out a Data Centre Policy 2022. Over and above infrastructure subsidy, interest subsidy and exemption of electricity fee for 10 years, this policy provides for reimbursement of net SGST for 7 years. Separately, the BPO Policy 2021, is also forward looking and growth oriented with special focus on large scale job creation.

(The author is secretary, electronics & IT, government of Odisha)