Finance Commission holds 'fruitful' discussions with Odisha govt

The 15th Finance Commission led by its Chairman, N.K. Singh, visited Odisha to hold detailed meetings with the state government and held discussions on the state's finances and other issues. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also attended the meeting.

On the first day of the meeting, the Commission held discussions with the representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), representatives of Trade Bodies, Associations of Industries and representatives of political parties of Odisha.

"I think our work is halfway through, the commission has to visit some more state. Odisha is the 16th state that Commission has visited. We will be obliged to submit our recommendation by the end of this year," Singh said.

During a press conference, Singh stated that the Commission held "fruitful discussions with the all stakeholders of the state on a wide range of issues like developing new opportunities and future roadmap, among others.

He said that the state has "unique challenges of high poverty and low per capita income, but the state has made significant progress."

Singh further hailed the recent initiatives of the state government. However, he added that "deeper changes in the implementation and improvement in infrastructure are needed to make the state truly competitive."

"Odisha has done a commendable job in disaster management. Some specific proposals have been placed before the commission. We will look into them and will recommend strengthening Odisha's capability," Singh concluded.

The meetings started on January 8 and will go on till January 11.