ODISHA

The number of prisoners, suffering from mental illness, has been rising steadily in the state.
This was revealed in the Prison Statistics India 2020 released by theNational Crime Records Bureau(NCRB).

With 696 mentally ill inmates in 2020, Odisha stood second only to Uttar Pradesh, which had 1,507 mentally ill prisoners during the period.

In 2019, altogether 626 mentally ill inmates were lodged in different jails here, the NCRB report said.
The development assumes significance amid the last month assigning 15 psychiatrists and 13 clinical psychologists the task of screening the mental illnesses of jail inmates across the state and treating them.

The psychiatry department of theNational Institute of Mental Healthand Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore was engaged by the Centre to prepare the advisory.
The state government has also constituted a three-member expert committee to find out the condition of inmates suffering from psychiatric ailments and the status of suicides in jails.

The Central Government released an amount of Rs 524 crore to Odisha towards balance GST compensation for the period from April to June. In fact, the Union Government has released Rs 17,000 crore to States and Union Territories (UT)s on November 24. The total amount of compensation released to the States/UTs so far during the year 2022-23 is Rs 1,15,662 crore.

This is despite the fact that total Cess collection till October, 2022 is only Rs 72,147 crore and the balance of Rs 43,515 crore is being released by the Centre from its own Resources.With this release, the Centre has released, in advance, the entire amount of Cess estimated to be collected this year till March-end available for payment of compensation to the States.

The Ministry of Skill development and (MSDE) through its strategic implementation and knowledge partner the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) will be organising a Kaushal Mahotsav on Sunday in Dhenkanal.

Under the guidance of Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan, a series of events will be periodically held in the State, bringing an array of opportunities to the local youth and communities of Odisha.

The Centre has requested the to expedite the land acquisition process as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to award tenders for some of the crucial highway projects in the state within the next one year.

Some of the key highway projects which are likely to be awarded in the next one year include theCapital Region Ring Road, Tangi-Ratanpur stretch of the coastal highway, six-lane of Chandikhole-Paradip stretch, Keonjhar-Duburi project,Cuttack-Paradipand Sambalpur ring road project.

Besides, two port connectivity projects like Chhatpur to Gopalpur and Jamujhadi to Dhamra port are also likely to be awarded for implementation by next year.
All these highway projects are proposed under the Centre’sBharatmala Pariyojanaand are significant in terms of faster movement of goods and socio-Economic Development of the respective regions.

Odishareceived the Rashtriya Khanij Vikas Puraskar first prize for thebest performing state in taking initiatives in exploration, auction and operationalisation of mines. It carries a Rs 3 crore prize .

The state mines minister, Prafulla Mallik, recived the award from Union Home ministerAmit Shahand coal and mines ministerPralhad Joshiduring the 6th National Conclave of Mines and Minerals in New Delhi.

The Rashtriya Khanij Vikas Puraskar was given away for the first time in three different categories. Odisha received the second prize (Rs 2 crore cash) in Category II, in which MP stood first and Maharashtra came third. CM Naveen Patnaik congratulated the state steel and mines department for the feat.

After a lull in tourism owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the state tourism department has decided to launch three new festivals this year in its bid to bring back visitors to the state.
Plans of organising an online Music Festival,HirakudFestival in Sambalpur and another such event in Koraput district are on the anvil.

The department will be holding its maiden Odissi music festival through virtual platform this year. From the next year onwards, it will be held at prominent locations in the state. Plans are also afoot for a festival in Mayurbhanj district next year.
The State Government had in 2018 planned to launch the Hirakud Festival near the Hirakud reservoir in Sambalpur. But it could not be executed then.

It must be noted the conviction rate in Odisha is one of the lowest in the country. As per the national crime records bureau (NCRB), the states conviction rate stood at 9.5% in 2015, 10.4% in 2016, 9.3% in 2017, 5.7% in 2018 and 21.5% in 2019.

While altogether 142 people had committedsuicidein the capital city between January and June last year, 151 people ended their lives here during the same period this year.

The 151 deceased included 38 people, who died by suicide during thelockdownin May (16 suicides) and June (22 suicides) this year. The suicide figures of the lockdown in May and June 2020 stood at 49 (18 in May and 31 in June).

Police said overall suicide cases went up in Bhubaneswar in 2020 compared to 2019. While 220 persons had committed suicides in 2019, the figure rose to 310 in 2020.

Some experts said many people suffered from mental imbalance following negativity being spread through various sources of Communication, media and Social Media.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik re-urged the Centre to withdraw the 18% GST on Kendu leaves for the larger interest of poor and tribal people associated with Kendu leaves trade in the State.

Imposition of GST (18%) on Kendu leaves is adversely affecting the Kendu leaves trade. This in turn affects the livelihoods of Kendu leaves pluckers, binders and seasonal workers and implementation of social security and welfare schemes for them, Patnaik wrote to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is Chairperson of the GST Council.

Patnaik said the Kendu (Tendu) leaf, which is a Minor Forest Produce, is the financial backbone of eight lakh Kendu (Tendu) leaf pluckers, binders and seasonal workers of Odisha. The pluckers and workers are mostly tribal and Women belonging to the poorest of the poor of the Society.

The tribal people collect the leaves as part of their rights defined under . In the interest of a large section of people dependent upon Kendu leaves for their livelihood, the CM requested Sitharaman once again to withdraw the imposition of GST on the trade.

With coastal erosion emerging as a major problem in the state, the Odisha government has decided to prepare a long term integrated plan to ensure of coastal areas and eco-supportive management of coastal Resources.

Stating that Odisha would be first state in the country to prepare such a plan, Patnaik said the expert agency IPE Global had been involved in the exercise to bring in international expertise and technical support for preparation of the perspective plan.