This is a list of people from or who live in Odisha, India.
Literature
Age of Sarala Yuga
Sarala Dasa (1465) Atibadi Jagannath Das (c. 1491–1550)
Age of Upendra Bhanja
Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja (C. 1688–1740) Dinakrushna Dasa (c.1650–1710) Abhimanyu Samanta Singhara (c. 1760– 1806) Kavisurya Baladev Rath (c. 1789 – 1845)
Age of Radhanath
Fakir Mohan Senapati Gangadhar Meher Radhanath Ray Madhusudan Rao Nanda Kishore Bal Gourishankar Ray Nilakantha Das
Post colonial age Gangadhar Meher Kalicharan Pattnaik Sachidananda Routray Brajanath Rath
Poets and authors Amjad Najmi Annada Shankar Ray Brajanath Ratha Fakir Mohan Senapati Gangadhar Meher Hussain Rabi Gandhi Godabarish Mishra Gopabandhu Das Gopinath Mohanty Gourahari Das Jachindra Rout Jagadish Mohanty Jagannath Prasad Das (Saraswati Samman winner) Jayadeva Jayanta Mahapatra Karamat Ali Karamat Kalicharan Pattnaik Madhusudan Rao Manasi Pradhan Manoj Das Manoranjan Das Manmohan Acharya Mayadhar Mansingh Mohammed Ayoob Nilakantha Das Oopali Operajita Pratibha Satpathy Radhanath Ray Ramakanta Rath Ramakrushna Nanda Sachidananda Raut Ray Sarala Dasa Sarala Devi Sarojini Sahoo Satya Narayan Bohidar Sitakanta Mohapatra (Jnanpith Award winner) Subrat Kumar Prusty (Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman winner) Tapan Kumar Pradhan
Writers and novelists Artabalabha Mohanti Brajanath Ratha Gita Mehta Gopinath Mohanty (Jnanpith Award winner) Haldhar Nag Kalindi Charan Panigrahi Krushna Chandra Kar Pratibha Ray Shantanu Kumar Acharya Surendra Mohanty Uday Satpathy
Women's writing and feminism Sarala Devi Archana Nayak Annapurna Choudhury Manasi Pradhan Nandini Sahu Sarojini Sahoo
Children's literature Kalicharan Pattnaik Adikanda Mahanta Krutibas Nayak Ramakrushna Nanda Dash Benhur Nilakantha Das
Drama and plays Kalicharan Pattnaik Gopal Chhotray Manoranjan Das Biswajit Das
Short stories Fakir Mohan Senapati Kalicharan Pattnaik Surendra Mohanty Manoj Das Jagadish Mohanty Sarojini Sahoo
Popular science Binod Kanungo Gokulananda Mohapatra Dr. Ramesh Chandra Parida Kamalakanta Jena
Education and Research Satyabadi Era
Gopabandhu Das Nilakantha Das Godabarish Mishra
Later Period Kalicharan Pattnaik Baidyanath Misra Bhubaneswar Behera Bidhu Bhusan Das Prabhat Nalini Das Subrat Kumar Prusty (Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman Madhu Sudan Kanungo Keshab Chandra Dash Madhab Chandra Dash Prafulla Kumar Jena Baisali Mohanty Jitendra Nath Mohanty Saraju Mohanty Oopali Operajita Prana Krushna Parija Nikhil Mohan Pattnaik Jogesh Pati Arun K. Pati Sam Pitroda Amiya Pujari Ashok Swain Jitamitra Prasad Singh Deo
Business and Entrepreneurship
Sadhabas - Traders and Merchants from Odisha( Kalinga) Kaundinya I - Kalingan Merchant & second monarch of Funan Madhusudan Das - Founder of Orissa Art Wares in 1898 and Utkal Tannery in 1905 Biju Patnaik - Founder of Kalinga tubes, Kalinga Airlines, Kalinga Iron work, Kalinga Refractories and the Kalinga, a daily Odia newspaper Mahimananda Mishra - Founder, OSL Group Banshidhar Panda - Founder, IMFA Group Achyuta Samanta - Founder, KIIT Group Tara Ranjan Pattnaik - Founder, Falcon Marine Group Dilip Ray - Founder, Mayfair Group Soumya Ranjan Patnaik - Founder, Sambad Group Prem Pattnaik - Founder, Haryana Coated Papers ltd & Red Fortune Llp Pankaj Lochan Mohanty - Founder, MGM Group Dr Satyaprakash Panda - Founder, Gandhi Group of Institutions Dr Swarup Ranjan Mishra - Founder, Mediheal Group of Hospitals, Kenya & 1st Odia MP of Kenya, from Kesses Constituency. Dr Ramakanta Panda - Founder, Asian Heart Institute & Asian Hospitals Dr Sita Kantha Dash - Founder, Kalinga Hospitals Dr Maya Gantayet - Founder, Ashwini Group of Hospitals Arun Kar - Founder of the Nest Group-a multinational conglomerate from UK Aditya Patra - Founder, The Aditya Group (Odisha) Biswanath Pattnaik - Founder FinNest Group of Companies, a renewable energy-focused private equity investment company Tarini Prasad Mohanty - Founder, Naibuga Iron and Manganese Mines (Mining Magnate) and owner of Team Gonasika, hockey franchise of Visakhapatnam, AP Dr Priyabrata Dhir - Founder, Sparsh Healthcare group Rabindra Kumar Jena - Founder, Highland Group Sibashish Mishra - Founder of BookingJini, a hospitality SaaS platform serving thousands of hotels Sitakanta Ray - Founder of RetainIQ, is aimed at e-commerce brands looking to enhance their customer engagement and MySmartPrice, a leading price comparison platform used by lakhs of Indian consumers Subrat Kar - Founder of MotorFloor, an online marketplace for commercial vehicles such as trucks, tractors, buses, and electric vehicles & co-founder of Vidooly, a video analytics platform that changed how Indian content creators and brands measured video performance Santosh Panda - Founder of Foundership, a global accelerator VC focused on AI, Web3, and emerging tech and Explara in 2008 — a platform that deals with event ticketing and management across India Srikumar Mishra - Founder of Aarna Protocol, a Singapore-based platform that blends decentralised finance with AI to create autonomous asset management solutions and Milk Mantra - dairy products startup, which was acquired by Hatsun Agro Product ltd. in 2025 Sarat Kumar Sahoo - Founder of Ruchi Foodline, a FMCG sector company whose brand "Ruchi Masala" is a household name in Odisha. Pradosh Kumar Rout - Founder of Pragati Milk Products, whose brand "Pragati” is the most trusted and popular dairy product brand in every household of Odisha. Asish Mohapatra - Co founder and CEO of "Ofbusiness" Priyadarshi Nanu Pany - Founder of CSM Technologies Dr Tirupati Panigrahi - Founder of Hi-tech Group Tapendra N Senapati & Ayaskanta Mohanty - Founder of Tatwa Technologies Subroto Bagchi - Co-Founder of MindTree Limited Jyotiranjan Harichandan - Co-founder of Bolt Energy, one of India’s fastest-growing EV infrastructure companies. Manas Badajena - Founder of Houzlook, the creative force and entrepreneurial mind behind Houzlook, Bangalore’s trusted full-service interior design brand. Tara Prasad Mahapatra - the visionary entrepreneur behind Asian Health Meter and Health Express Jitu Mohapatra - Founder of Orimark Properties Dr. Kamakhya Das - Founder of Kruti Coffee, one of India’s fastest-growing homegrown specialty coffee brands Capt. Soumya R. Patnaik- the Managing Partner & CEO of Panbulk Shipping DMCC, one of the most respected names in global maritime logistics Dr. Jitendra Kumar Mohanty - the visionary founder and CMD of Swosti Group — Odisha’s leading name in hospitality, tourism, and education Dr. Sreejoy Patnaik, a renowned surgeon and the visionary founder of Shanti Hospitals Group, Cuttack Biraja Rout - Founder of Biggies Burger – one of India’s fastest-growing burger chains Manoj Kumar Pattnaik - the visionary founder of Orissa Transformer Pvt Ltd (OTPL) – a name trusted by Tata and many other industrial giants across India Milan K. Mishra - Founder of Duramix Concrete — one of Odisha’s most trusted names in the construction materials industry. Suresh Chandra Sahoo - Founder of Dion Group Amarendra Dash - Founder of Suryo Group Sibasis Nayak - Founder of T Cube Solutions (acquired by Capgemini) Tapan Kumar Mohanty - Founder of Z Estates Group Mohammed Moquim - Founder of Metro Group
Aviators Giribala Mohanty
Artists
Actresses Anu Choudhury Archita Sahu Barsha Priyadarshini Bijaya Jena Jyoti Mishra Mahasweta Ray Naina Das Nandita Das Rameshwari Sulagna Panigrahi Tandra Ray Kavya Keeran Rajeswari Ray Pupul Bhuyan Sudharani Jena
Actors
Akash Das Nayak Anubhav Mohanty Arindam Roy Atal Bihari Panda Babushaan Mohanty Bijay Mohanty Buddhaditya Mohanty Chandan Kar Chandrachur Singh Dipanwit Dashmohapatra Dukhiram Swain Hara Patnaik Jayiram Samal Mihir Das Papu Pam Pam Prashanta Nanda Sabyasachi Mishra Sadhu Meher Sarat Pujari Siddhanta Mahapatra Sisir Misra Sriram Panda Uttam Mohanty Mohammad Mohsin Jyoti Ranjan Nayak Samaresh Routray Partha Sarathi Ray
Dancers
Modern Rajasmita Kar Prince Dance Group
Odissi Gurus and Dancers Kalicharan Pattnaik Gangadhar Pradhan Geeta Mahalik Kelucharan Mohapatra Mayadhar Raut Sanjukta Panigrahi Saswat Joshi Sujata Mohapatra Sunanda Patnaik Oopali Operajita Kumkum Mohanty Baisali Mohanty Dayanidhi Das
Filmmakers Mohammad Mohsin Mehmood Hussain Bijoy Ketan Mishra Hara Patnaik Mira Nair Nila Madhab Panda Nitai Palit Prashanta Nanda Ravi Kinagi Sabyasachi Mohapatra Sadhu Meher Sisir Mishra Jitendra Mishra
Painters Jatin Das Jayanta Meher Kailash Chandra Meher
Sand artists Sudarshan Pattnaik
Sculptors Raghunath Mohapatra Sudarshan Sahoo
Singers Kalicharan Pattnaik Akshaya Mohanty Bhikari Bal Arabinda Muduli Krishna Beura Pratyush Prakash Sarbeswar Bhoi Sikandar Alam Sniti Mishra Sona Mohapatra Sunanda Patnaik Rituraj Mohanty Jitendra Haripal
Musicians Kalicharan Pattnaik Akshaya Mohanty Prafulla Kar Arabinda Muduli
Designers Bibhu Mohapatra
Jurists Ananga Kumar Patnaik; Former Justice of Supreme Court of India Gopal Ballav Pattanaik; Former Chief Justice of India Bira Kishore Ray; First Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Sukanta Kishore Ray; Former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Jugal Kishore Mohanty; Former Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court Pradip Kumar Mohanty; Former Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court Gati Krushna Misra; Former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Ranganath Misra; Former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra; Former Chief Justice of India
Chief Executive Officers T.K.Chand, Chairman and Managing Director of NALCO
Professionals
Bankers Ashok Kumar Sarangi Harun Rashid Khan
Engineers Bibhusita Das
Managers Sarthak Behuria Sandip Das Subroto Bagchi Dr Tapan Kumar Pradhan
Physicians B. K. Misra (Neurosurgeon) Ramakanta Panda (Cardiovascular Surgeon)
Journalists Bibhuti Bhushan Nayak (Journalist) Gopal Mishra
Government civil servants Anugraha Narayan Tiwari (Former CIC of India) Lalit Mansingh Prajna Paramita Ramakanta Rath Sitakanta Mohapatra Dayanidhi Choudhury
Security and Law Enforcement
Pramod Kumar Satapathy
Religion Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Bhima Bhoi Jayadeva Atibadi Jagannath Das Achyutananda Das Durga Charan Mohanty
Freedom fighters
Annapurna Choudhury Afzal-ul Amin Baji Rout Biswambhar Parida Bishwanath Das Bakshi Jagabandhu Chakhi Khuntia Ekram Rasul Ghanshyam Panigrahi Gopabandhu Choudhury Gopabandhu Das Godabarish Mishra Gurubari Meher Harekrushna Mahatab Jayee Rajguru Jagannatha Gajapati Narayana Deo II Jagabandhu Patnaik Kamal Singh Karunakar Singh Krushna Chandra Gajapati Laxman Nayak Madhab Chandra Routray Madho Singh (Ghess) Madhusudan Das Madhusudan Rao Malati Choudhury Nabakrushna Choudhuri Nilakantha Das Nityananda Mohapatra Parbati Giri Pindiki Bahubalendra RamaDevi Choudhury Sarala Devi Subhas Chandra Bose Sarangadhar Das Sayeed Mohammed Veer Surendra Sai
Rulers Avakinnayo Karakandu Chullakalinga Kalinga II Kharavela Kalinga Magha Nissanka Malla Satrubhanja Kaundinya I Hemangada Sivakara Deva I Ramachandra Deva I Tribhuvana Mahadevi I Anantavarman Chodaganga Anangabhima Deva III Narasingha Deva I Kapilendra Deva Purushottama Deva Prataparudra Deva Govinda Vidyadhara Jagannatha Gajapati Narayana Deo II Krushna Chandra Gajapati Basudeb Sudhal Deb Ramai Deva Balarama Deva Vishwanath Dev Gajapati Vikram Dev III Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo
Politicians
Amarnath Pradhan Ananga Udaya Singh Deo Ananta Nayak Archana Nayak Arjun Charan Sethi Afzal-ul Amin Badri Narayan Patra Bhakta Charan Das Gopanarayan Das Bhartruhari Mahtab Bhupinder Singh Bibhu Prasad Tarai Bijayananda Patnaik Bijoy Mohapatra Biju Patnaik Bikram Keshari Deo Binayak Acharya Biren Mitra Bishwanath Das Braja Kishore Tripathy Chandra Sekhar Sahu