Odisha slips in national ranking from 14th to 27th in three months

Odisha has witnessed a steep fall in its national ranking for the implementation of the new criminal laws, dropping from 14th position in November 2025 to 27th in February 2026. The decline within just three months has sparked concern over the state police’s preparedness and performance, sources said on Thursday.

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The evaluation by the Union Home Ministry measures performance across four parameters, such as administrative reforms (20%), operational efficiency (45%), ICT applications (25%), and inter-departmental integration (10%). While the State government secured full marks in administrative reforms and integration, it lagged significantly in the field-level execution and technology adoption.

Odisha’s ICT score improved marginally from 2.62 to 4.16 out of 25, remaining far below the national average of 13.42. In operational efficiency, the score rose from 15.30 to 18.56 out of 45, yet it trailed behind the better-performing states such as Assam, Goa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, and Gujarat. Assam continued to rank among the top performers.

The sharp fall comes despite repeated claims of ‘Digital Odisha’ and administrative reforms under the so-called ‘double-engine government’. Critics argue that while paperwork and coordination appear strong, ground-level implementation remains weak.

Adding to the debate, Odisha Police is organising a large-scale exhibition at IDCO Exhibition Ground in Unit-3 locality of Bhubaneswar on March 6 (Friday) to showcase the New Criminal Laws, allegedly spending lakhs of rupees from the state exchequer.

Questions are now being raised over whether the focus is on genuine reforms or public image management. Attempts to seek a response from the police remained futile.