ODISHA

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.

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.

The approved 18 industrial projects worth Rs 3,457 crore that will generate 14,436 EMPLOYMENT opportunities. The approval was given during the 118th meeting of the state-levelSingle Window Clearance Authority.

Official sources said 10 out of these Investment proposals were received during the Make inOdishaConclave-2022. During the meeting, the state government also recommended two industrial projects to the high level clearance authority (HLCA). The approved projects have been spread across a range of sectors, including Metal downstream and ancillary, pharmaceutical, Food Processing, cement, textile and apparel, information technology and food and agro processing.

Raja Parba is an Odisha festival.

The second day marks the start of the solar month of “Mithuna,” which heralds the arrival of rains.

The festival takes place in mid-June.

The first day is known as Pahili Raja, the second as Mithuna Sankranti, and the third as Bhu daaha or Basi Raja.

It is believed that the mother Goddess Earth, or Lord Vishnu’s divine wife, menstruates during the first three days.

Vasumati snana is the fourth and final day (bathing of Mother Earth). Women venerate a stone that represents Mother Earth. They bathe her in turmeric paste, shower her with flowers, and smear her with Sindoor.

The term Raja is derived from Rajaswala (meaning a menstruating woman), and during the mediaeval period, the festival became more popular as an agricultural holiday commemorating the worship of Bhudevi, Lord Jagannath’s wife.

The has initiated steps to implement a new scheme, Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chatra Protsahan Yojana (MMSPY) very soon.

Principal Secretary Higher Education Bishnupada Sethi has taken an initiative in this regard, said sources in Department of Higher Education.

Existing three types of scholarships given to the students for pursuing higher studies, such as e-Medhabruti, Vyasakabi Fakir Mohan Medha Bhasabruti and Gopabandhu Sikhya Sahayata Yojana, will be brought under one umbrella, that is the Mukhyamantri Medhabi Chatra Protsahan Yojana.

Under the e-Medhabruti component, the Higher Education Department is going to enhance the number of students to be covered under the Scholarship and the amount also, official sources said here on Monday.

According to the sources, the scholarship amount for meritorious UG students under e-Medhabruti will be enhanced from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 per year. In total, now, a selected student will get Rs 30,000 while earlier they were receiving Rs 15,000. Similarly, the number of beneficiaries will also be doubled from existing 5,000 students.

TheOrissa high courthas instituted a ‘lawyer of the year’ award to be presented on Lawyers’ Day every year. Lawyers’ Day is celebrated on April 28 to commemorate the birth anniversary ofMadhusudan Das, aBritish era lawyerpopularly called Madhu Babu orMadhu Barrister.
The award has been introduced with a view to encouraging young lawyers practising in the district courts, including the outlying stations, the said in a notification on January 26, from when the scheme came into force.

The award will be given in the form of a collection of books worth Rs 10,000, along with a certificate and a memento to lawyers not less than 30 years and over 40 years. In an exceptional case, a lawyer below 30 years, but not below 28, may be considered, the notification said.

Apart from the effective COVID-19 vaccination drive, Odisha has the highest total immunization coverage of 90 percent in the whole country.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, Odisha ranked first for full immunization coverage, with 90.5 percent coverage.

During a review meeting on the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0, which was launched across the state on March 7th, RK Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, mentioned this.

Odisha’s twenty districts had total immunization rates of over 90%, while the remaining ten districts had less than 90%.

Ganjam, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jharsuguda, Koraput, Keonjhar, Malkangiri, Khurda, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj, and Sundargarh were chosen for participation in the Intensified Mission Indradhanush based on the composite index assessment.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched Mo College Campaign to make higher Education eco-system more organic and innovative. It will connect Odia alumni across the globe to their alma maters in Odisha.

He launched Mo College web portal on virtual platform and appealed the Odia alumni to help to rebuild their own institutions. He hoped that Mo College will bring a similar response like Mo School.

Emphasising Education in mother tongue, Das said, Article 350 (b) of the Constitution provides safeguards for the linguistic minorities in India. The New Education Policy 2020 echoing the ethos ofSamagra Sikshyaalso encourages state governments to ensure that wherever possible, students should be taught in their mother tongue/regional language/local language.

Odia-speaking people in Jharkhand under the aegis of Odisha Bhasha Vichar Mancha a civil Society group has been demanding revival of Odia-language schools in the state.

Odia schools in Jharkhand have been facing several issues such as after the retirement of teachers posted in Odia-medium schools, the state education department started appointing Hindi-speaking teachers in those schools, and the did not publish Odia books though the NCERT has given copyright to the Jharkhand government. The education department has started merging Odia-medium schools with Hindi-medium ones in regions with substantial groups of Odia-speaking communities. The recent decision of the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) to exclude Odia from the primary teachers training programme in the state has added to the woes of Odia people in Jharkhand.

The Odia language, literature and culture department of the Odisha government tweeted, The department has requested the school and mass education department to provide necessary Odia textbooks and take necessary steps for filling up vacant teachers posts.

The spectre of bad loans, which haunted the Banking sector after the two distinct waves of Covid-19 since March 2020, continues to rise and threaten the banking sector in Odisha.

With the cases of non-payment of loans on the rise, the non-performing accounts (NPA) amount has risen to over Rs13, 000 crore for which bank authorities are expressing serious concern.

Over the years, the NPA of the State is experiencing a high rise and banks are facing problems to recycle the funds. Non-repayment of loans has resulted in mounting overdue and rising NPA.

While the NPA was Rs 11,339 crore as on March 31, 2021, it has risen to Rs 12,852 crore as on September 30, 2021. By December 31, it crossed Rs13, 000 crore, officials sources said.

The alarming rise of NPA has put the banking sector in a spot and the issue was raised in the recent State Level Bankers Committee Meet.

The sector has requested the to come to their rescue and urged for a joint strategy to improve recovery performance for better recycling of funds.