Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, is known by different names such as Toshali, Kalinga Nagari, Nagar Kalinga, Ekamra Kanan, Ekamra Kshetra and Mandira Malini Nagari "City Of Temples" otherwise known as the "Temple City Of India".

The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chhedi dynasty (around 2nd century BCE) who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital. Being the seat of Tribhubaneswar or 'Lord Lingaraj', Bhubaneswar is an important hindu pilgrimage centre. Hundreds of temples dot the landscape of the Old Town, which once boasted of more than 2000 temples. Bhubaneswar is the place where temple building activities of Odishan style flowered from its very inception to its fullest culmination extending over a period of over one thousand years.

The modern city of Bhubaneswar was designed by the German architect Otto Konigsberger in 1946. It is one of the first planned cities of modern India. Bhubaneswar replaced Cuttack as the political capital of the state of Odisha in 1948, a year after India gained its independence from Britain. The new Bhubaneswar with its modern buildings and extensive infrastructure perfectly complements its historic surroundings. With facilities to cater to every type of visitor, Bhubaneswar makes an ideal tourist destination. Bhubaneswar is categorized as a tier 2 city. An emerging IT hub, the boom in the metals and metal processing industries has made Bhubaneswar one of the fastest developing cities of India in recent years. With the chandaka reserve forest on the fringes, the city, with an abundance of in-city greenery has become one of the cleanest and greenest cities of India.

Bhubaneswar, being the capital city of Odisha, is easily accessible. Travelling to the city is totally hassle-free, as it is very well connected with the almost all parts of India, by air, rail or road. Numerous flights as well as trains operate to and from Bhubaneshwar, which help the tourists in reaching the city easily.

Puri: One of the four celebrated religious centres of India, Puri, the abode of Lord Jagannath needs no introduction. The sunny beach at Puri is one of the finest popular sea-side resorts in the world.

Konark: The magnificent Sun Temple at Konark is the culmination of Odishan temple architecture, and one of the most stunning monuments of religious architecture in the world.

Chilika: Chilika, Asia's largest brackish water lake, is a haven for millions of birds. Kalijai Temple located on an island in chilika is considered to be the abode of the Goddess Kalijai.

Dhaulagiri: The rock outcropping on Dhauli hill at the bank of the river Daya, is a little away from the main road as one drives towards south of Bhubaneswar. It bore witness to the gruesome war waged on Kalinga by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. It is the site of a set of rock edicts left by the Indian emperor Ashoka in about 260 BC.

Khandagiri and Udaygiri: The twin hills of Kumargiri and Kumarigiri known as Khandagiri and Udaygiri contain varieties of rock-cut caves, built mainly for the jain monks around 1st - 2nd century B.C.

Nandan Kanan: Justifies its literal meaning i.e “Garden of Pleasure” is a beautiful biological park established in 1960.

Lingaraja Temple: The great Lingaraja (eleventh century), which soars above the city of Bhubaneswar, represents Odishan temple architecture at its most mature and fully developed stage. It has, in fact, been described as 'time quintessence of Odishan architecture'.

Mukteswara Temple: The small and elegant Mukteswara Temple (c. AD 950) is often referred to as the "miniature gem of Odishan architecture. one scholar has described the Mukteswara as "harbinger of the new culture".

Rajarani Temple: The Rajarani Temple, dating back to the eleventh century, is set in open paddy fields, and the entire structure exudes grace and elegance. The name of the temple is related to the lovely red-and- gold sandstone used in its construction, a stone which is known locally as rajarani.

Parsurameswara Temple: It is the earliest temple still standing in Bhubaneswar which shows the early stages of development of the two main Odishan temple components: the beehive-shaped tower (generally referred to as the deul ) and the porch in front of the tower (generally called the Jagamohan).

64 Yogini Shrines – It provide a glimpse into the religious sand occult practices from the medieval times that are still alive in Odisha's tribal traditions and folklore. Built during the 9th century to harness the supernatural powers, two of the temples are in Odisha - at Hirapur near Bhubaneswar (15 km), and the twin villages of Ranipur and Jharial and the other two are present in Khajuraho and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Guided Tour Packages

Delegates are being offered a glimpse of rich heritage and culture of Odisha with a choice of Guided Tour Packages on 11th February 2012.The delegates may choose from the following options:

1. Guided tour to Puri and Konark
2. Guided tour to Chilika and Puri
3. Guided tour to Khandagiri,Udaygiri,Dhauligiri,Nandan Kanan and Temple Complexes in and around Bhubaneswar

Odisha, a land of quintessential charm, with its natural bounties, gracefully blends the old world splendour with the modern day developments. While nature abounds in all its glory with unspoilt and alluring beaches, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, hills, forests, wildlife and a tribal culture, which is still vibrant with its unique lifestyle, Odisha is impressive with its rich tradition of art, architecture and sculpture.

Odisha located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, has a history spanning a period of over 5,000 years. The modern state of Odisha was established on 1st April 1936, as a province in India and Bhubaneswar is the capital of Odisha.

Odisha is the ninth largest state by area in India, and the eleventh largest by population spreading across an area of 155,707 sq kms. The state is enclosed between the states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar and stretches across the latitudinal parallels extending between 17°49' north and 22°34' north and the longitudinal meridian that spans between 81°27' east and 87°29' east. It has a coast line of about 450 kms.

Odia is the official and most widely spoken language with 93.33% Odia speakers according to linguistic survey. The narrow, level coastal strip, including the Mahanadi River delta supports the bulk of the population. The interior of the state is mountainous and sparsely populated. Odisha is drained by the Mahanadi, Brahmani, Baitarani, Subarnarekha, Rusikulya and the Budhabalanga rivers along with their tributaries and distributaries. According to the physiographic conditions, the topography of Orissa is categorized into the following heads namely, the Central plateaus, the eastern Coastal Plains and the Middle Mountainous and Highlands Region. Numerous mountainous springs and hot springs gush down the mountains of Orissa. The Satpasajya, Harisankar, Deomali, Chandikhole, Barunei, Badaghagara, Sanaghagara, Narayani, Nirmalajhar, Patalaganga and Nursinghanath are some of the noted hilly streams that flow through Orissa. Deomali at 1672 metre is the highest point of the state.Several cascading waterfalls tumble down through the steep mountain tops, the hills and the rocks and prettily adorn the landscape. The Barehipani, Sanaghagara,Badaghagara,Khandadhar,Rabandhara, Pradhanpat, Dumduma and the Joranda are some of the eminent waterfalls. The Chillika lake and the Ansupa lake are the two renowned lakes that dots the Odisha landscape.

Odisha has several popular tourist destinations. Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar are known as Golden Triangle of eastern India. Puri, with the Jagannath temple near the sea (famous for Rath Yatra or the Car Festival), and Konark, with the Sun Temple, are visited by thousands of tourists every year. The Jagannath Temple of Puri, the Konark Sun Temple, the Lingaraj Temple, Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves, Buddhist viharas and stupas of Lalitagiri, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri, Dhauligiri of Bhubaneshwar, Ashoka's famous rock edict at Jaugada near Berhampur city and the Barabati fort of Cuttack are important in the archaeological history of India. Other places like Chilika lake, Ansupa lake, Nandan Kanan, Similipal and Hirakud dam are a great attraction for the tourists.

Of all the regional cultures, Odisha or the ancient Kalinga played a very conspicuous and vital role in the cultural matrix of Indian civilization. Situated on the eastern coast of India, it imbibed the quintessence of cultural traditions of both Northern India and Southern India, yet it succeeded in developing a distinct identity of its own in the realms of creative arts. The Odishan culture has a three tiered structure with interfaces and interpolation, the tribal/ethnic, the folk/peasant and the urban/classical which existed side by side enriching and enlarging the cultural dimensions. The cultural heritage of Odisha is one of the oldest, embracing a period of about three thousand years. The Odishan culture stands for its religious catholicity and tolerance resulting in the assimilation of the tenets of all main stream of Indian religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Saivism, Tantricism and Vaisanvism in to the eclectic cult of Lord Jagannatha, who came to be recognised as the presiding deity of the State.

Odisha has a glorious tradition of music and dance. The figures of dancers carved on ancient temple walls speak of Odisha's rich musical heritage. Odissi dance is the typical classical dance form of Orissa and has its origin in the temples. The rhythm, the bhangis and mudras used in Odissi dance have a distinctive quality of their own. Odissi dance deals largely with the love theme of Radha and Krishna. Other popular dances of Odisha are Gotipua dance, Mahari dance, Naga and Medha dance, Ghoda dance, Bhalu dance, Mankada dance and Dhuduki dance etc.

The e-Governance road map for the Government of Odisha had been formulated in the year 2006. The updated version of the existing road map was released in July 2011. It gives a holistic overview of the scale of e-Governance initiatives that the Government will take up in a 10 years prospective to provide good governance through transparent, efficient and effective services to the citizen.

• e-Panchayat Puraskar 2011: On the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Divas, Odisha bagged the first prize for its e-governance initiative in monitoring utilisation of funds at the panchayat level through Model Accounting System for Panchayats ( MAS) and PRIASoft.
• e-World 2011 Award: (i) Odisha receives the e-Governace award for e-Registartion (Dharani) for best electronic delivery of service in public choice catagory and for e-Municipality services under best urban governance initiative category.
• e-World Forum 2011 Award: VATIS (Value Added Tax Information System) implemented by commercial tax department wins jury award for the best project under G2B e-services category.
• CSI Award of appreciation 2011- iOTMS: Integrated Odisha Treasury Management System implemented by Directorate of Treasuries and Inspection receives the award.
• e-India Jury Award 2010 in Hyderabad:(i) Nandini : A unique project in the country in livestock sector with ICT intervention for helping the livestock farmers with timely information on reproductive life cycle of crossbred cows and to get better advisory and monitoring service. The project has been identified by the Government of India as the best Government to Citizen (G2C) initiative for the year 2010 owing to its innovative nature and considered for a country wide rollout. (ii) Smart Krishi: As the best ICT enabled Agricultural initiative of the year with an objective of e-delivery of G2C services at Panchayat level to the common man through Common Services Centre established under NeGP mandate. The project is having sufficient provisions of improved service delivery channel on agriculture related services and information to the farmers at their doorsteps.
• e-Gov 2.0 Jury Award 2010: Odisha RTI website bags the best user friendly website.
• Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2006-07:e-Sishu: The Child Tracking System (CTS) implemented by Orissa Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA), has received the award.

• Creating the right common IT infrastructure like Odisha State Wide Area Network (OSWAN), State Data Centre (SDC), Common Service Centre (CSC) etc.
• Establishing multiple service delivery points like Common Service Centres, Odisha State Portal etc.
• Initiating a messaging services in form of SSDG (State e-Governance Services Delivery Gateway) to provide seamless interoperability and exchange of data across multiple government departments.
• Preparing overarching policies like ICT policy, Promotion strategy, IT hardware manufacturing policy and guidelines.
• Providing Technical advisory and Capacity building support to all the government departments through OCAC (State Nodal Agency).

To ensure successful implementation of various e-Governance initiatives and their interoperability for seamless electronic delivery of citizen centric services, various initiatives like ICT policy, Promotion strategy, IT hardware manufacturing policy have been formulated. To provide institutional support, various agencies like Orissa Computer Application Centre (State Nodal Agency),State Information Technology Services Board (For over all co-ordination and monitoring of IT sector),Information Technology Think Tank (To assess and indentify focus areas),Program Steering Committee (To provide overall vision, broad policy direction and guidance), State e-Governance Program Apex Committee (To provide overall strategy and direction to all departments) and IT Task Force (To review and monitor the progress of IT sector) have been identified.

• Odisha State Wide Area Network (OSWAN): The objective is to provide a state wide area network which will improve government efficiency through connectivity. It would serve as the backbone network for data, video and voice communications throughout the State. OSWAN has gone live from December 2010 and currently network spreads across 1 State Head Quarter (SHQ), 30 District Head Quarters (DHQ), 284 Block Head Quarters (BHQ) and 61 Horizontal Offices.
• Odisha State Data Centre (OSDC): The state data centre was established to provide central repository of secure data storage, efficient online delivery of G2G, G2C and G2B services and hosting state portal etc. SDC has gone live from November 2011 and day by day department level applications are migrated to this newly built platform.
• Common Service Centres (CSC): Government of Odisha is setting up Common Service Centres (Jan Seva Kendra) across Odisha. These CSCs are envisioned as the front-end delivery points in offering Government-to-Citizen(G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B) and Business-to-Citizen (B2C) services to the citizens across the state at places nearest to their residence. More than 5316 CSCs are commissioned across the state till date.
• The e-District project which was launched on pilot basis at Ganjam and Mayurbhanj districts in the state, now running live in Gopalpur RI circle of Berhampur Tahesil of Ganjam district. At present 5 services being offered by District Collectorate which includes Residence certificate, Income certificate , Solvency certificate, Legal Heir certificate, Caste certificate. Very soon the project will go live in other Tahesils of Mayurbhanj and Ganjam district.
• Government of Odisha has implemented the e-Municipality project on pilot basis in 44 urban local bodies of the state and the project is running live from August 2011. It aims to ensure on line delivery of high volume citizen centric services provided by municipalities including Birth & Death certificates, Trade License, Property/Holding Tax, Grievances, Building Plan, Water Connection and Certificate verification etc.
• The e-Procurement system was introduced in the state from March 2008 to bring more transparency and efficiency in tendering process.Now works valued more than Rs.20 lakhs of Government departments and corporations are procured through e-procurement website. Also all the urban local bodies of the state are procuring works contracts valued more than Rs.1 lakh since January 2010 through e-procurement.
• To strengthen local self-governance, Panchayati Raj department has implemented Ruralsoft and Priasoft through which the web monitoring of physical and financial progress of poverty alleviation schemes was possible.
• VATIS (Value Added Tax Information System) was launched by Commercial Tax department to achieve high efficiency in VAT Administration, quick disposal of registration application, acknowledgement of receipts of all applications, returns, quick information on tax collection, quick identification of defaulters and non-filers of returns, faster issue of statutory forms, reduction of interface between the dealers and the staff to avoid the perception of harassment.
• The Directorate of Treasuries & Inspection has implemented Integrated Odisha Treasury Management System (iOTMS) for 30 district treasuries, 6 special treasuries and 125 sub-treasuries to ensure timely compilation of treasury accounts as per the finance commission guidelines for computerization of accounts. This facilitates automated account keeping as well as transaction processing, expedite consolidation, compilation of accounts and monitoring cash flow.
• Odisha motor vehicle department is pioneer in using Information Technology for providing citizen centric services. Odisha is the first state to successfully implement Vahan & Sarathi project along with integration of Smart Cards. Now smart card based driving license and registration certificates, issue and renewal of driving license, registration of motor vehicles, issue and renewal of permits, collection of motor vehicle taxes, issue and cancellation of fitness certificates, modernisation of border check gates are possible using IT tools.
• Student Academic Management System (SAMS) launched by Department of Higher Education is an online centralized e-Admission system for all the higher secondary and general degree colleges. From the year 2011 online examination form fill up for higher secondary courses are available. Very soon e-Scholarship module will be available under SAMS.
• The Steel and Mines department has implemented Integrated Mines and Minerals management System (i3MS) for computerisation of mines and minerals transportation on a pilot basis. The objective of the project is to eradicate corruption, brings transparency and efficiency in the administration by using ICT tools. The pilot includes online issue of transit permit and transit pass, checking each transaction of transportation of mineral from mines, connecting all the checkpoints through a dedicated connectivity, cross check all the minerals transported at Government weighbridge, check gate and railway sliding.
• Government of Odisha is also in the process of digitizing the land records of all the Tahesils of the state as per NLRMP guidelines. As of now Modern Record Room (MRR) was established in 33 Tahesils of the state.
• Odisha Secretariat Work Flow Automation System (OSWAS) is being implemented at 10 departments of the state secretariat to automate all the functions and working procedures of secretariat and to provide an effective method of storing, maintaining and retrieving the huge volumes of data that is generated by integrating workflow, knowledge, security managements and core, central and departmental applications.
• General Administration Department through its flagship programme Centre for Modernizing Government Initiative (CMGI) implemented Human Resource Management System (HRMS) to improve the capacity of Government to deliver public services efficiently and effectively. The objective is to built a digitized human resources legacy data of Government of Odisha covering all the employees of 38 departments working in more than 6000 offices in the state.
• The UIDAI enrolment in Odisha started in full swing in the month of January 2011 under the supervision of IT department of Government of Odisha as the nodal department for UIDAI. For ICT integration with Aadhaar database, five departments have been chosen to take advantage of UID for better and effective government service delivery to residents.