Rayagada is a mineral-rich district in the southern part of the state of Orissa, in India. The city Rayagada is its headquarter. The population of this district consists mainly of tribals. The primitive Kondhas or Kondhs form the majority of population followed by Souras.

The District occupies a total area of 7,584.7 km². Rayagada is divided into eleven blocks.

The district generates income mainly through agriculture based activities. Paddy, wheat, ragi, mung, biri, ground nut, potato and maize are the major crops grown in the area.

In the third century B.C, during the reign of Ashoka the Great, it was under Kalinga empire (ancient Orissa). The hilly track between Bansadhara and Nagabali was famous for spices. The Rastriks were defeated by Kharvela, the only Aryan Emperor of Kalinga (ancient Orissa), during the Chawpagada battle.

During the rule of Gangavansi and Suryavanshi Kings in Orissa, it was under feudatory chief of Kalinga-Utkala empire Dadarnab Dev of Gudari Kataka This region went to the Bahamanis when the last Hindu Gajapati emperor of Orissa, Mukund Dev was defeated at Gohera Tikiri in 1519. It came under the Nandapur Kingdom for 47 years. Biswambar Dev was defeated and killed by Hasin Khan of Mughal Chicacole Sarkar rulers of Orissa,was perhaps the third king installed at Rayagada.

Murari Sharma (Hindi: मुरारी शर्मा, Born:01-01-1901, Died:02-04-1982) was a revolutionary who took part in the Kakori Conspiracy and absconded away. Police could not trace him out as Murari Sharma was his fake name. His actual name was Murari Lal Gupta. While speaking as a Chief Guest this fact was disclosed by his son Damodar Swarup 'Vidrohi' - a revolutionary poet of Shahjahanpur district in the "Ram Prasad Bismil Jayanti Sangoshthi" organised by Hindi Academy Delhi on 19 June 1997 at Rajendra Bhawan New Delhi. He was born on 1 January 1901 to Chhote Lal Gupta a khandsari (en. sugar producing business man) of village Mudia Panwar in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. For some times he lived underground in Delhi and later on returned to his native village. He died natural death on 2 April 1982 in his house of Shahjahanpur at the age of 81. He never sat on a Rikshaw throughout his life, for the reason that it was pulled in the city by a man, and being a man himself he considered it unethical to be pulled by a man.^{[citation needed]}

Naveen Patnaik (Oriya: ନବୀନ ପଟ୍ଟନାୟକ) (born October 16, 1946) is an Indian politician and Chief Minister of Orissa, India, and the chief of Biju Janata Dal, a regional political party in Orissa. He is also a writer and has published three books.

Patnaik was born in Cuttack, Orissa to Biju Patnaik, former Chief Minister of Orissa, and Gyan Patnaik. At the age of 7, he was sent to Welham Boys' School, Dehradun, but later on shifted to the Doon School, where he received his Senior Cambridge Certificate at the age of 17. After that he attended Kirori Mal College,Delhi University, and he qualified for Bachelor of Arts degree.

He is a life-long bachelor. His elder brother Prem Patnaik is a Delhi-based businessman, while his sister Gita Mehta is an author and is the wife of Sonny Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of Alfred A. Knopf, New York. He is an ardent devotee of Maa Tara Tarini and often visits the abode of the mother goddesses, the breast shrine of Adi Shakti near Berhampur, Ganjam district.

Patnaik is a writer and had for most part of his youth been away from both politics and Orissa, but after his father Biju Patnaik's demise, he entered politics in 1997 and a year later founded the Biju Janata Dal named after Biju patnaik which won the state election with the BJP as its alliance and formed the government in which Patnaik became Chief Minister. His mild mannerism, stand against corruption and "pro-poor policies" have resulted in the development of a huge support base in Orissa, which has voted him to power in the last three consecutive terms. Like his father he had managed to control the greedy bureaucracy and have transformed it to a machine for the development of the state.