Bhubaneswar: NITI Aayog’s Investment Friendliness Index 2026 has recognised Odisha as a “Top Performer” alongside Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Goa.
The newly-launched index evaluated all 28 states and eight Union Territories to encourage healthy competition and cooperative federalism. Based on their comprehensive scores, states were classified into four distinct categories: Top Performers, Frontrunners, Emerging Performers, and Aspiring States. While 15 states achieved Frontrunner status, Odisha’s inclusion in the topmost bracket reaffirms its commitment to reforms, ease of doing business & investor-centric governance, the state Chief Secretary posted on X.
The framework for the IFI was initiated following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during NITI Aayog’s 9th Governing Council Meeting and was subsequently formalised in the Union Budget 2025–26. To deliver a data-driven assessment, NITI Aayog analysed 84 distinct indicators across eight core pillars: infrastructure, business climate, resources, government policy, regulatory ease, institutional environment, financial health, and environmental resilience. The methodology combined objective secondary data with primary investor perception surveys to capture the actual on-ground business experience.
To ensure equitable comparisons, the index grouped states into three peer categories based on geography, administrative structure, and economic scale: Large States, Hilly and North-Eastern States, and Union Territories and City States. While Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu claimed the top three spots within the Large States peer group, Odisha’s high cumulative score across the core pillars comfortably propelled it into the overarching Top Performer tier.
The NITI Aayog report emphasised that while the central government establishes national policy directions, individual state governments play the most critical role in shaping the actual investment climate. By building reliable physical and digital infrastructure, reducing regulatory hurdles, and maintaining policy stability, Odisha has effectively minimised operational barriers for industries.
Beyond serving as a benchmarking exercise, the index acts as a strategic tool for future policymaking, offering detailed state profiles that highlight specific strengths and areas for further reform. For Odisha, this recognition not only validates its ongoing ease-of-doing-business initiatives but also cements its role as a pivotal contributor to India’s long-term economic ambitions under the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, the post added.