ODISHA

The silk yarn production centre was inaugurated on September 24, 2021 by Chairman of KVIC, Vinai Kumar Saxena.

This centre will ensure local availability of Tussar Silk yarn, reduce the silk production cost as well as create local EMPLOYMENT.

Tussar silk is one of the finest varieties of Silk. It is distinguished by its coarseness and porous weave, giving it a rugged and rustic appearance.

This centre was set up at a cost of Rs 75 lakh.

It is capable of producing 200 KG of silk yarn of worth Rs 94 lakh annually.

About 2,500 youths having minimum qualification as matriculation passed in age group 18 to 35 years would be given free training in three years in the ECoR. The training will be imparted in welding, electrician and fitter trades at Diesel Loco Shed at Visakhapatnam, Electric Loco Shed at Angul and Visakhapatnam and at Carriage Repair Workshop at Mancheswar with 20 slots at each location.The training will consist of 100 hours in three weeks. The application form for the said training is available on ECoR website as well as at respective training centre.

“It was decided that the local elite landraces ofjackfruithaving desired quality for raw consumption as well as production of the value-added product will be identified by the directorate to meet the market requirement,” said an official source.

The meeting chaired by development commissionerP K Jenaand Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture production commissioner R K Sharma decided to encourage grafted jackfruit plantation to reduce the gestation period once quality grafts are produced in horticulture farm.

The State Government will also constitute an expert advisory committee for creating resource and knowledge base for the promotion of jackfruit cultivation and Marketing of jackfruit products. Experts from national level institutes andKerala Jackfruit Missionare likely to be included in the committee.

As the state government has no definite data, the Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation ofOdishaLimited (APICOL) has been asked to bring out a status report on jackfruit cultivation, its marketing, processing, value chain and potential in Odisha. “The APICOL will also organize Entrepreneurship development meet forjackfruit processingto promote entrepreneurship.OUATwill also be involved in the process.

TheOdishaRural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) and the Jagatsinghpur administration had roped in a Kolkata-based export company to export the golden grass products being made by SHG producers group of Thailo village under Balikuda block. The company purchased golden grass products worth Rs 2.32 lakh on Thursday for export to Japan, saidBipin Rout, joint chief executive officer of ORMAS.
Golden grass , locally called kaincha, is a wild grass found in many parts of the coastal district. It grows to a height of about 5-6 feet and the inflorescent stick, which appears after monsoon, is used for weaving. The golden grass products are eco-friendly, biodegradable and reduce the use of plastic.

The expects huge revenue gain from themining sectorduring the 2021-22 financial year with most of the mines auctioned before the outbreak of Covid-19 having started production.

Sources in thestate steelandmines departmentsaidrevenue collectionfrom mining sector in the first quarter (April-June) is estimated at Rs 9,049 crore (as on June 28) compared to the Rs 2,735 crore collected in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The collection is according to the initial estimate and may go up slightly after final audit by the department, said an official.

The premium (committed during auction of mineral block) is a Percentage on the sale of mineral which the lease pays to the state government as tax every month. It is over and above the royalty.

Mining sectors contributed Rs 13,600 crore during the 2020-21 financial year while the collection was over Rs 11,000 crore during the 2019-20 financial year. With revenue collection from several other sectors like GST, VAT, excise, stamp duty and registration fee are expected to fall in the first quarter of the fiscal because of Covid-induced lockdown and shutdown, Growth in collection of revenue from the mining sector should come as a breather for the state government.

Odisha Inks Pacts with Infosys, Nasscom To Upskill Students

The today inked two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Infosys and Nasscom for upskilling students in Odisha.

Infosys and Nasscom will provide Skill development training to around 8 lakh students of 1,100 of higher Education institutes (colleges and universities) in Odisha, said an official of the Higher Education department.

As part of Infosys CSR, Infosys Springboard provides free curriculum-rich virtual platform that delivers corporate-grade Learning experiences, on any device, with closer educator-learner collaboration for students from Class 6th to lifelong learners.

Infosys Springboard empowers Women and students from rural areas with a focused learning portal, specialized Resources and expert mentors for holistic development. It is fully aligned with Indias National Education Policy 2020. The learning programme is devised to enhance vocational skills and soft skills of the students.

The present image of Odisha as a consuming State must change to a producing State. The change is much needed to ensure and to raise the Nutrition level of the State. The other important issue getting more attention during Covid-19 is the plight of migrant workers.

Along with huge under EMPLOYMENT, there has been persistent increase in distress Migration of labourers to outside. Odisha remains one of major suppliers of migrant workers along with Bihar, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Assam and WB. A sizeable work force of the State, about 30 lakh vulnerable migrant workers, are working outside the State and data shows that this number has been growing in recent years. Advantageous migration as such is a boost to domestic economy through remittance but distress migration is undesirable. Covid-19 has very well exposed the vulnerability of migrant workers.

Globally, India is featured among top 10 agricultural producing countries such as China, Brazil, Russia and USA. Odisha lags behind in application of technology in comparison to other agricultural producing States. Data on Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture economics shows that there is very less Percentage of people engaged in agriculture in the developed countries but here the percentage is quite high.

The Census data 2011 says the number of tribal cultivators has reduced by 10 percent while the number of STs in the Population of agricultural labourer has increased in the same rate. The tribal mobility in search of opportunities to non-tribal areas has also increased.

As many as 5,770 villages in Odisha do not have mobile Network connectivity. The information was provided by Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, while replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on March 24, raised by Sulata Deo.

45,406 villages out of total 51,176 villages of the State have mobile network connectivity facilities till December 2022, he stated.

While only two villages each in Jagatsinghpur and Jharsuguda do not have mobile network connectivity, four villages out of total 1,702 villages in Puri district are without mobile network. Highest number of villages (1,247) in Kandhamal district do not have mobile network connection, followed by Rayagada (1,041), Koraput (598), Gajapati (582) and Kalahandi (545) districts.

As per the reports, less than 20 villages in Jagatsinghpur, Jharsuguda, Puri, Baleswar, Dhenkanal, Subarnapur, Bolangir, Bargarh and Kendrapada districts do not have mobile network connectivity.

In a move to protect the Environment, the has decided to scrap its vehicles which have completed 15 years to its initial registration.

Commerce and Transport, Principal Secretary Usha Padhee has written a letter to all senior officials to scrap all Government vehicles of more than 15 years of old in Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) Centers.

As per the amended Central Motor Vehicle Rules, the certificate of registration in respect of a motor vehicle owned by the State Government, ULBs, State PSUs, corporations established, owned or controlled by the State Government, would expire after the lapse of fifteen years from the date of initial registration of the vehicle.

Further, the certificate of registration of Government vehicles, if already renewed, such certificate should be treated as cancelled on completion of 15 years from the date of initial registration of the vehicle Padhee stated in her letter.

In order to facilitate scrapping of old vehicles, the Odisha Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Policy, 2022 has been notified by the Transport Department.

Under the policy guidelines, it has also been mandated that all Government vehicles under different Government Departments, PSUs, organisations, autonomous councils and ULBs above 15 years of age are to be mandatorily scrapped through a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF).

To address the issue of Malnutrition among adolescent girls, pregnant and ailing Women, the Odisha government has implemented the Strategy for Odishas Pathway to Accelerated Nutrition (SOPAN) in 125 blocks of 22 districts across the state.

Under the scheme, girls and women will be provided weekly nutrition supplements. Besides, programmes likeKishori Mela, additional spot feeding for pregnant and mothers of newborns will be organised.

Director of ICDS project Arvind Agrawal instructed district collectors to carry out various activities, such as distribution of eggs thrice a week to 15 to 19-year-old girls, under the scheme.

The scheme will be implemented in Angul, Bolangir, Bargarh, Boudh, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Jajapur, Ganjam, Keonjhar, Koraput,Malkangiri,Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Subarnpur and Sundargarh districts.