One of the poorest states of the country is well on the verge of sustained long-term growth and industrial revolution of sorts.

Officials at the World Bank—who just released a financial assistance of $225 million and is in the process of releasing another $300 million early next year—said Orissa has, over the past two years, shown remarkable growth potential and that too on a sustainable basis.

This is the reason why, the Bank is now favorably inclined to help out Navin Patnaik, the state chief minister, with some big financial assistances, be it in the infrastructure sector or for eradication of poverty.

Observing that though the coastal state—having a population of some 32 million and spread over some 155,000 sq km—still had a long way to go to match developmental status of Karnataka and Maharashtra, officials said the gap is narrowing down fast. ‘‘The state is now on the path of sustained growth. Development prospects are indeed looking great. It has had a significant turnaround,’’ the official told The Indian Express.

Referring to developmental statistics, the official said it shows real growth has picked up and grown much above the all-India average. ‘‘Through the 1990s they were far below the all-India average. The general trend is very positive,’’ he said.

After stagnating in the 1990s, economic growth has accelerated in recent years, including faster growth in mining, agriculture and service sectors. ‘‘Real growth reached an average of 8.4% over the past years; ahead of all-India average, and nearly double growth rate of the 1990s,’’ the Bank said in a statement this past week.

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