[9][10][11][12][13] Barwa was born in Gaibira, Odisha, India, on 1 June 1955.

He holds a licentiate in Liturgy from the Pontifical Atheneum of St.

[14] Barwa was ordained a Catholic priest of Society of the Divine Word on 14 April 1985.

He succeeded as a bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Rourkela started on 2 April 2009.

He was appointed Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar on 11 February 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.