ODISHA

Leading global professional Services firm Deloitte set its foot in Odisha by opening its capability enhancement centre (CEC) at BMC-ICOMC tower here on Friday. The state-of-the-art facility, inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, is spread over 55,000 sq feet. The chief minister reiterated the governments commitment to facilitate Deloittes expansion in Odisha. The centre will provide further provide impetus to the states economy and create significant high-end EMPLOYMENT opportunities for the youth, he said.

Bhubaneswar became the fourth Indian city after Thane-Mumbai, Gurugram, and Coimbatore to have Deloittes CEC, the companys flagship office which delivers outstanding value through the adoption of best practices, usage of latest technologies, and deployment of a diverse and skilled workforce. The CEC in the state capital will expand to 1,500 professionals over 18 months and focus on areas like analytics, , digitalisation, machine Learning, cloud, and cyber security.

With thepanchayat polla few months away, theOdisha governmenthas sanctioned distribution of livelihood assistance of Rs 1,000 each for nearly 96 lakh households under the National Act (NFSA), 2013, and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS).
The initiative will cost the State Government Rs 960 crore. The state food supplies and consumer welfare department has already released the amount to various districts, while modalities have also been finalised for distribution of the amount within seven days.

Smart cards, recently distributed under theBiju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, will be the primary identity proof of the beneficiaries to receive the assistance. Eligible families, who are yet to receive the smart cards, can produce the NFSA and SFSS cards as proof to claim the amount.

A similar list of panchayat beneficiaries will be prepared. The amount is likely to be distributed at the panchayat level. The district collectors will update the daily consolidated disbursement report to the food supplies department.

A study conducted by three voluntary organisations revealed that 30.77% schools inOdishado not have usable toilets.

With schools reopening, the organizations have urged the to prioritise building and maintenance of school toilets.

Lack of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in a school is linked to interest of students to attend classes. But many schools in rural areas do not have proper washrooms or drinking water facilities.

The study was conducted jointly by Atmashakti Trust and its allies – Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha and Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha. The survey was conducted across 10,043 government-run schools in 82 blocks of 18 districts.

The study revealed that 3,438 schools (34.34%) do not have drinking water facilities. “Safe drinking water in schools not only keeps school-going children free of dehydration and sickness, but also helps in bringing down absenteeism,” it stated.

The Orissa has directed the government to constitute a high-level committee in order to monitor the smooth functioning of quasi-judicial forums in the state. JusticeBiswanath Rathissued the direction on October 19 while adjudicating on a petition questioning the functioning of such forums.

Cases involving the OdishaLand Reforms(General) Amendment Rules, 2015, and theOrissa Survey and Settlement Act, 1959, among others, are settled through the quasi-judicial forums.

The high court divided the petitioners’ allegations into three categories – first, in quasi-judicial proceedings initiated around four years ago, there is no admission of such matters for a long period of time; second, there is no hearing even on matters admitted around 15 years ago; third, many posts in the forums remain vacant on most occasions.

Land acquisition for the ambitious coastal highway project will start soon as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has initiated the required formalities with the for the exercise.

Official sources in the NHAI said it has written to the district collectors of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada to form a competent authority for land acquisition (CALA) for the major Infrastructure project.

Though the Rs 7,500-crore coastal highway was initially proposed to connect Gopalpur in Ganjam to Digha in West Bengal, the alignment (proposed path) has now been changed in view of environmental concerns. The project, proposed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Union Government, will now start from NH-16 near Tangi in Khurda district and developed in two stretches – Tangi-Ratanpur and Ratanpur-Digha.

Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, announced that his government will provide smart fitness cards below Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.

Smart Health playing cards will be furnished to 3.5 crore human beings in ninety-six lakh families in the state.

Beneficiaries of countrywide & nation meals protection schemes and Annapurna and Antyodaya initiatives will be provided with these cards. Under it, females can avail treatment up to Rs 10 lakh per year.

Other family contributors will get the advantage of up to Rs 5 lakh each. According to the CM, Odisha is the first kingdom in India to grant such smart health cards.

Health card beneficiaries can avail of health Services across 200 health facility chains in India which include in Odisha. This will fortify the health protection of the people.

This initiative was launched in the backdrop of humans promoting land and valuables or dropping their teenagers out of faculties to prepare the cure costs. Under it, people will get distressed free and undemanding treatment at the best available fitness care facilities.

Annapurna Scheme was once launched in April 2000 with the purpose of presenting to meet the necessities of those senior citizens who remained uncovered below the National Old Age Pension Scheme. It covers 20% of men and Women eligible to receive a pension below NOAPS. Central help is furnished to beneficiaries of having age of 65 years or above. Under this scheme, beneficiaries are provided 10 Kg. of meals grains per month free of cost.

Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana is a universal health Insurance scheme, covering around 70 lakh families. It was once launched by way of the chief minister of Odisha and 250 crores were sanctioned for this scheme. Under it, cashless health care help will be provided. It will grant annual fitness insurance of Rs 5 lakhs to every household and 7 lakhs per ladies participants of every family.

To strengthen the security systems in jails and streamline their management, the has decided to provide body cameras to prison officials and procure latest gadgets, including deep search Metal detectors, to trace hidden mobile phones in the cells of inmates.

A pilot project has been approved by the government for procurement of 20 body worn cameras for staff, 10 each forChoudwarandJharpadajails inCuttack and Bhubaneswar. In the subsequent phases, the body worn cameras will be supplied to other jails. The body worn cameras will keep a watch on the activities of notorious criminals and suspects inside the prisons.

The debt level of Odisha is now within stipulated limit and it is expected to increase by 4% by the end of financial year 2026-27, according to a status paper published by the Odisha Finance Department on .

As per the report, the total outstanding public debt of the State as per the revised estimate for the financial year 2022-23 stood at Rs 97,037 crore which is 12.7% of the States Gross Domestic Product (GSDP). Over the next three years, total public debt is expected to increase to approximately 16.7% of GSDP in 2026-27, which will be within the stipulated limit of 25%.

The Fifteenth Finance Commission and Odisha FRBM Act, 2005 prescribe for limiting the debt to GSDP ratio within 25%. The current debt level of Odisha is within the stipulated debt limit. Besides, the debt stock is considerably lower than that of the Central Government which is 57% of GDP as per the Union Budget.

This will be driven by Fiscal Deficit arising on account of higher capital spending in various programmes of the State Government.

The Government has expected that the total debt stock will increase to Rs 1,12,882 crore by the end of FY 2023-24 and again it will go up to Rs 1.40 lakh crore in 2024-25, Rs 1.72 lakh crore by 2025-26 and may rise to Rs 2.09 lakh crore by the end of 2026-27.

The Odisha Government has not resorted to open market borrowing during 2022-23 because of funds from other low cost sources like the Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC) and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

The guarantees do not constitute a part of the State Government’s loan, but in case of default by the State PSUs, the State Government is liable to repay the loan. The guaranteed loan as a Percentage of Revenue Receipts has been reduced from 123.37 percent in 2001-2002 to 6.3% during 2022-23 against the ceiling of 80 percent.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik rolled out the State Dashboard, a data and analytics-powered platform, which will streamline performance monitoring of government schemes, aiding data-driven DECISION MAKING.

The State Dashboard consists of three critical components CM Dashboard, Department Dashboard and Administrative Action Monitoring Portal. The application appraises the performance of different administrative departments on 5T parameters.

The standout features of this dashboard include key performance indicators based performance monitoring and a visual display of progress for timely decision-making. It showcases 30 different dashboards from 16 departments currently, with a plan to add more departments subsequently. It leverages the power of visualization and advanced analytics to appraise the performance of departments and their schemes.

The CM component of the State Dashboard called CM Dashboard is made public so that citizens can access it through the link https://cmdashboard.odisha.gov.in/. Public participation will increase accountability among the departments and ensure more transparency in the service delivery processes.

The FIH in its 47th Congress on Saturday conferred the prestigious FIH Presidents Award to Pandian.

While Odisha organised the 14th Edition of Mens Hockey World Cup in 2018, the Hockey India and the Odisha Government are no w gearing up to host the 2023 Mens Hockey World Cup.

In 2023, India will host the competition for a record fourth time since its inception in 1971. The tournament is slated to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29, 2023.

All the matches of the 14th World Cup were held at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.