(MENAFN- IANS) Bhubaneswar, Nov 26 (IANS) Odisha Governor Raghubar Das and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Biswabhusan Harichandan jointly inaugurated the 'Odisha Research Centre' (ORC) and a one-day workshop on 'Knowledge Traditions of Odisha: A Futuristic Framework' in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

Union Minister for Education, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan, Cuttack MP, Bhartruhari Mahtab along with several other dignitaries and students were present during the inaugural event held at CSIR-IMMT campus here.

Addressing the gathering, Pradhan said that the rich and glorious history of Odisha has only been confined to folklore due to the lack of painstaking research and adequate factual evidence.

He noted that the Centre will represent Odisha's speciality and will give a new direction to current and social dynamics based on past background.

“The Odisha Research Centre will research art, culture, archaeology, tradition, literature and 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,” Pradhan added.

The Union Minister also stated that Odisha will celebrate the centenary of the formation of the province in 2036 and the country will celebrate the centenary of India's independence in 2047. He said ORC will prepare a roadmap for the next two decades to guide Odia youth for the development of Odisha.

The 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 research centre is the development of innovative epistemological frameworks to explore varied and nuanced dimensions of Odisha's history, culture, economy and society.

--IANS

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