Odisha government plans 870-Acre Silicon Valley hub in Cuttack’s Naraj for semiconductor, IT projects
The Odisha government has announced plans for an 870-acre technology hub at Naraj, near Cuttack, branded as an "Odisha Silicon Valley," intended to house semiconductor, electronics, and IT projects.
The announcement was made at Semicon India 2026, where the State government received investment proposals worth approximately ₹23,600 crore, with the potential to generate around 6,100 jobs.
The proposed hub is located along the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar urban corridor, with connectivity to the ports of Paradip and Dhamra and to major national highways.
Alongside the hub announcement, the State Cabinet approved a further amendment to the Odisha Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy, providing an additional 25% fiscal support on eligible capital expenditure for projects approved under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), disbursed on a pari passu basis with the Union government's support.
The State government held discussions with global and domestic technology companies, industry bodies, and delegations from other countries at the event, as part of ongoing efforts to position the state as a semiconductor and electronics manufacturing hub.
Odisha already has five approved semiconductor projects with a cumulative investment of about ₹10,899 crore, expected to generate over 4,500 direct and more than 16,000 indirect jobs. [Unverified]
India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)
The India Semiconductor Mission was launched on December 29, 2021, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), with a total outlay of ₹76,000 crore, to build a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in India. It functions as an independent business division within the Digital India Corporation and acts as the nodal agency for evaluating proposals, structuring fiscal incentives, and coordinating with state governments on land and infrastructure.
Odisha's amended Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy is explicitly designed to top up ISM-approved projects, and the new Naraj hub is intended to provide the physical land and infrastructure base to attract such ISM-linked investment.
Cooperative and Competitive Federalism in Industrial Policy
India's semiconductor and electronics manufacturing push operates through a two-tier incentive structure: Union government schemes (like ISM) set the overall fiscal framework, while individual states compete with land, power, water infrastructure, and additional subsidies to attract specific projects — a pattern often described as "competitive federalism" in industrial policy.
Key Details
- Several states (Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, among others) have notified their own semiconductor or electronics policies to attract ISM-linked and other high-value manufacturing investment.
- Odisha's Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy was first notified in September 2023 and has been amended three times since (March 2024, July 2025, and the current amendment), reflecting an iterative, competitive policy-tightening process among states.
- Central schemes typically require matching land, utility, and law-and-order commitments from states, making state-level ease-of-doing-business and dedicated industrial land banks (such as the proposed Naraj hub) a key differentiator.
The Naraj hub and the enhanced 25% state fiscal support are examples of a state using land-based industrial infrastructure and top-up incentives to compete for ISM-anchored investment against other states pursuing similar semiconductor ecosystems.
Industrial Parks and Land-Based Investment Promotion
Dedicated technology or industrial parks (such as the proposed Naraj hub) are a standard tool of state industrial policy: government-assembled and infrastructure-ready land parcels are offered to reduce the time and cost investors would otherwise spend on land acquisition, utility connections, and regulatory clearances.
Key Details
- Land assembly by the state (rather than by individual investors) is intended to de-risk large greenfield projects like semiconductor fabs, which require contiguous acreage, assured power and water supply, and proximity to logistics infrastructure.
- Port connectivity (to Paradip and Dhamra in Odisha's case) and highway access are relevant for semiconductor and electronics manufacturing because of the need to import specialised equipment, raw wafers, and chemicals, and to export finished components.
- Investment "proposals" received at investment summits (such as the ₹23,600 crore figure cited here) represent expressions of interest or memoranda of understanding, not committed or disbursed investment; conversion into operational projects depends on subsequent land allotment, clearances, and financial closure.
The 870-acre Naraj hub is positioned as this kind of investment-ready land bank, meant to convert the ₹23,600 crore of proposals gathered at Semicon India 2026 into operational semiconductor and IT projects over the coming years.
- Proposed hub size: 870 acres at Naraj, near Cuttack, Odisha, along the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar corridor.
- Investment proposals received: approximately ₹23,600 crore, with potential to generate around 6,100 jobs.
- India Semiconductor Mission: launched December 29, 2021, under MeitY, with a ₹76,000 crore outlay; nodal body is ISM, housed within Digital India Corporation.
- Odisha's Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy: first notified September 2023; amended in March 2024, July 2025, and again in 2026 to add 25% additional capex support (pari passu with ISM) for ISM-approved projects.
- Odisha's existing semiconductor project base: five ISM-linked/approved projects, cumulative investment of about ₹10,899 crore, expected to create over 4,500 direct and 16,000+ indirect jobs. [Unverified]