Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan along with Governor of Chhattisgarh, Shri Biswabhusan Harichandan; Governor of Odisha, Shri Raghubar Das inaugurated the Odisha Research Centre and a one-day Workshop on ‘Knowledge Traditions of Odisha: A Futuristic Framework’ in Bhubaneswar today. Member of Parliament, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, several other eminent dignitaries, academicians, scholars, officials of the Ministry of Education etc., and students were present at the event.

While addressing the gathering Shri Pradhan commented that the Odisha Research Centre will represent Odisha’s specialty and will give new direction to current and social dynamics based on past background.

Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for implementing National Education Policy 2020, Shri Pradhan said that priority has been given to imparting multi-disciplinary education through it. The Odisha Research Center will help review the prosperous, accomplished and glorious orthodox society and in exploring the scientific reason and the underlying process behind the stone carvings of the angular temple made by Odisha’s sculptors, he added.

He said that the Odisha Research Centre will research art, culture, archaeology, tradition and literature, sociology of Odisha, political process and political culture, agriculture, commerce, business and industry, development trends of contemporary Odisha, science & technology and healthcare, and future technology. The Centre will also work on smart cities, climate change, environmental protection and sustainable development, semiconductors, and rare earths and advanced minerals, he added.

Shri Pradhan also said, that in 2036, when Odisha will celebrate the centenary of the formation of the province, and in 2047, when the country will celebrate the centenary of India’s independence, the Odisha Research Centre will prepare a roadmap for the development of Odisha, development of Odia, and provide guidance to the Odia youth and a bright future for the next two decades.

The Odisha Research Centre (ORC) is being established in collaboration with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR); Indian Knowledge Systems Division, Ministry of Education; IIM Sambalpur; IIT Kharagpur; and IIT Bhubaneswar. The objective of the Centre is the development of innovative epistemological frameworks to explore varied and nuanced dimensions of Odisha’s history, culture, economy and society.