The initiative ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ wasannounced by Hon'ble Prime Minister on 31st October,2015 on the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary ofSardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Through this innovativemeasure, the knowledge of the culture, traditions andpractices of different states & UTs will lead to anenhanced understanding and bonding between thestates, thereby strengthening the unity and integrity ofIndia.

The broad objectives of the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ initiative are asfollows:CELEBRATE the Unity in Diversity of our Nation and to maintain and strengthen the fabricof traditionally existing emotional bonds between the people of our Country.PROMOTE the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagementbetween all Indian States and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagementbetween States.SHOWCASE the rich heritage and culture, customs and traditions of either State forenabling people to understand and appreciate the diversity that is India, thus fostering asense of common identity.ESTABLISH long-term engagements.CREATE an environment which promotes learning between States by sharing bestpractices and experiences.

Contents:

1. Profile of the State2. History & Culture of ODISHA3. Important Tourist places and Monuments

• Orissa is a place like no other, a glowing green jewel of a state. On theeast, 485 km of gentle coastline are open to the Bay of Bengal, whilethe high hills and mountains of the Eastern Ghats seal the westernborders. In between, lie 156,000 sq. km. of peaceful, rural beauty.

• Orissa is home to three mighty rivers and to the largest fresh/saltwater lake in Asia, to dozens of the most sacred places of pilgrimagein India, and to hundreds of thousands of small, traditional villages, inwhich almost all of her 45 million people live.

• The modern boundaries of Odisha were demarcated by the BritishIndian government and the "Province of Orissa" was established on 1April 1936, it consisted of Odia speaking districts.

HISTORY

OF

ODISHA

History of Odisha (Kalinga)

261 BCE

The ancient kingdomof Kalinga, which wasinvaded by the Mauryanemperor Ashoka (which wasagain won back from them byking Kharavela) in 261 BCEresulting in the Kalinga War,coincides with the borders ofmodern-day Odisha.

TEMPLES & HISTORICAL SITES OF ODISHA

Jagannath Temple Puri

Konark Temple

Lingaraj Temple

Brahmeswara Temple

Samaleswari Temple

Chandragiri

Dhauligiri

Ratnagiri

Udaygiri & Khandagiri

Lalitgiri

Palm Leaf Manuscript

RATH YATRA OF PURI

Raja Parba or Mithuna Sankranti Balijatra

Nuakhai

Freedom Fighters of Odisha

Baji Rout

Jayee Rajguru Veer Surendra Sai

Although people from all states of India came together to fight the war of Independence, some freedom fighters

from Odisha state particularly made a mark and left the British power utterlyhopeless, irritated and distressed.

This is some famous Odia Freedom Fighters:

AFTER INDEPENDENCE

People & Demography of Odisha

FormationProvince of Orissa

1 April 1936

Renamed asODISHA

24 March 2011

CapitalBhubaneswar

Area 155,707 km2

Total District 30

Population

4,70,98,218

• The population of Orissa forms 3.47 percent of Indiain 2011.

• Density of Orissa is 270 per sq. km which is lowerthan national average 382 per sq. km.

• Sex Ratio in Orissa is 979 i.e. for each 1000 male,which is above the national average of 940 as percensus 2011.

• Literacy rate in Orissa is 72.87 percent, of that, maleliteracy stands at 81.59 percent while female literacyis at 62.46 percent.

Hindu

Christian

Muslim

All others

Religion Wise Population 2011 - Odisha

Major Rivers1. The Mahanadi 2. The Brahmani3. The Budhabalanga4. The Subarnarekha5. The Baitarani6. The Rushikulya.

Language

History of Odia Language• Oriya is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Aryan

language family. It is thought to be directly descended from a MagadhiPrakrit similar to Ardha Magadhi, which was spoken in eastern India over1,500 years ago, and is the primary language used in early Jain texts. Oriyaappears to have had relatively little influence from Persian and Arabic,compared to other major North Indian languages.

• The language is also spoken by minority populations of the neighboringstates of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

• The modern Odia language is formed mostly from Pali words withsignificant Sanskrit influence. About 28% of modern Odia words haveAdivasi origins, and about 2% have Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu), Persian, orArabic origins.

Two and a half thousand years ofevidence proves the splendor ofthe ODIA language

SAURAS

SAURAS

BONDA

SANTHALS

GONDS

Tribes of Odisha

Tribes of Odisha

BHUMIAS

ORAONS

KOYAS PARAJAS

GADAVA

Ethnic Costumes of Odisha

Odisha Traditional Food

Chhapan Bhoga

Odisha Traditional Food

Rassagola (Odisha)

Suji Kakara

Enduri PithaPoda Pitha

Simlipal National Park

Bhitarkanika National Park

Chillika

Industrial Growth of Odisha

• Odisha, with a coastline of 480 km, is located on the east coast ofIndia along the Bay of Bengal. The state is served by 3 ports- Paradip,Dhamra and Gopalpur. Paradip port is one of the largest ports on theeastern coast of India and has a capacity of 127 MMT.

• It is the largest port in India in terms of average output per ship-berth-day. During 2018-19, 109.27 million tons of cargo was handled.

• Odisha is the mineral hub of India and the largest aluminium, steeland stainless steel producer in the country. Highest mineralproduction of INR 49,505.66 crore with 13.88% of India’s total value.

• The state is domestically well-connected with over 250,000 km of road length and 15 national highways passing through the state.

• The state has installed power capacity of over 8,861 MW and is the first state in India to have undertaken restructuring initiatives in the power sector.

• Bhubaneswar, the state’s capital, was ranked first in the ‘Smart City Challenge’ of Government of India.

• A first-of-its-kind Single Window Portal called Government of Odisha– Single Window for Investor Facilitation and Tracking (GO SWIFT) has been introduced covering the complete life-cycle of industrial projects for time-bound and hassle-free investment in the State.

Hirakud DamWith a great 27 kilometers in length, Hirakud is the Longest Dam in the World. It is built across the Mahanadi River,

about 15 kilometers (9 mi) from Sambalpur in the state of Odisha in India. Behind the dam extends a lake, Hirakud Reservoir, 55 km

(34 mi) long. It is one of the first major multipurpose river valley projects started after India's independence.

PARADIP PORT

CHROMITE MINING IN ODISHA

BIJU PATTNAIK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

ROURKELA STEEL PLANT

• Sudarsan Pattnaik is an Indian Sand Artist from

Odisha. He was awarded the Padma Shri by

Government of India in 2014.

Kelucharan Mohapatra was a legendary

Indian Classical Dancer, guru, and exponent of

Odissi dance, who is credited with the revival and

popularizing of this classical dance form in the 20th

century. He is the first person to receive the Padma

Vibhushan from Odisha.

• Dutee Chand is an Indian professional sprinter and current

national champion in the women's 100 metres event. She is the

third Indian woman to ever qualify for the Women's 100 metres

event at the Summer Olympic Games.

• Dilip Tirkey is a former Indian field hockey player and his

playing position was of full back. He was best known for his

penalty corner hit.

• He has also served as Captain of of Indian hockey team.