Rourkela, the second largest city and the commercial capital of Orissa (Odisha) is situated in an area with the richest deposit of mineral wealth on the banks of river Bramhani. Renowned as the steel city of Orissa, Rourkela came into prominence in 1955, with the establishment of the first of the three public sector steel plants in India. The city is located in Sundergarh distric at an elevation of about 219 meters above mean sea level. Locally, 'Rourkela' means 'your village' which is derived from the two words Rour (your) and kela (village). Surrounded by numerous hills and rivers, this large industrial town has a number of small and big industrial units. Rourkela Steel Plant, a unit of SAIL is a one of the largest steel manufacturing unit in India. Kanshbahal, Kalunga and Rajgangpur are the other few industrial towns located near Rourkela.

Rourkela is one of the important educational, technical and research center of Western Orissa. The city is gifted with full-fledged premier institutes like National Institute of Technology (NIT), Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Rourkela Institute of Management Studies (RIMS) etc. Rourkela is dotted with numerous tourist attractions which are worth visiting.