This guidance note is about a recent mining boom in Odisha, that accelerated and diversified economic growth in the Indian state. However, the boom did not reduce poverty in the mining region. Meanwhile, unsustainable mining practices have severely affected the region's air and water quality. Efforts to improve mining practices will require greater capacity for planning
reliable and timely data
and modernization of the institutional and regulatory framework surrounding the mining sector. A pilot project funded by the World Bank has suggested the way forward in the Keonjhar-Jajpur Resource Corridor. The resource-corridor focus makes it possible to articulate a sequence of extractive-industry investments in infrastructure, goods, and services and to integrate those investments with other actions to be taken by the private and public sectors so as to produce sustainable economic development and diversification within a defined geographic area. A better spatial understanding of the mining sector can underpin coordinated regional planning to reduce the negative effects of mining operations and to share benefits more equitably. Finally, a responsible mining sector free from conflict, irregularities, and illegalities can ensure that India's resource-rich regions are developed in a holistic manner.