Explore Business Standard
Odisha
The Odisha government on Tuesday invoked the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1988, prohibiting strikes by doctors and other healthcare staff, as agitating doctors carried on with their boycott of outpatient department (OPD) services across state-run health facilities. Under the order, strikes in the form of cessation of work by doctors, nursing officers, pharmacists, paramedics, technicians and Class III and IV employees, including contractual staff, engaged in government hospitals and dispensaries have been banned for six months with effect from Tuesday, an official notification said. Doctors in government hospitals and health centres have been boycotting OPD services since December 26, initially for one hour a day, which was extended to two hours from 9 am to 11 am starting January 5. Emergency services, inpatient care and surgeries, however, have continued uninterrupted. The agitation, under the banner of the Odisha Medical Service Association (OMSA), has been ongoing sinc
Outpatient department services across state-run hospitals in Odisha were affected on Monday morning as doctors boycotted work for two hours over a host of issues, including filling up of over 50 per cent of vacant posts. Members of the Odisha Medical Service Association (OMSA) boycotted outpatient services from 9 am to 11 am, demanding that the government fulfil their 10-point charter of demands. OMSA president Kishore Mishra said the doctors have been agitating since November 20. "In the first phase, the doctors joined work wearing black badges, and from December 26, boycotted the OPD service for one hour. They further extended the OPD boycott to two hours from today," he said. "Emergency services, inpatient care, and surgeries will remain unaffected. Now on, OPDs will remain closed from 9 am to 11 am daily, from primary health centres to district headquarters hospitals," he added. Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling appealed to the doctors to shun agitation as the government was ...
Several people are feared to be dead after a large portion of rocks collapsed at a stone quarry in Odisha's Dhenkanal district, officials said on Sunday. The incident took place on Saturday evening when some workers were engaged in drilling and exploration of stone from the quarry located near Gopalpur village under Motanga police station limits in the district, they said. How many workers are trapped under the rocks, and the exact cause behind the incident has not yet been cleared. However, local fire service teams, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams, along with dog squad and machines engaged in rescue operations, have been rushed to the area, a fire service officer said. "The rescue operation is in progress," the officer said. Dhenkanal Collector Ashish Ishwar Patil and SP Abhinav Sonkar have reached the spot to supervise the rescue operation. Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, in a post on X said, "I am deeply saddened to learn that workers lost their lives due
Odisha's Food Supplies Minister Krushna Chandra Patra on Thursday said the Centre has agreed to procure an additional 6 lakh mt of rice from the state. The state government has been urging the Centre to procure the surplus rice as warehouses are full. "The Government of India has agreed to procure 6 lakh mt of rice, including 5 lakh mt of boiled rice, from Odisha by April," Patra said. "The state has surplus rice of 7 lakh mt. So, the remaining 1 lakh mt of rice will be sold through auction," he added. The Centre usually procures around 50 lakh mt of rice from Odisha, officials said. Patra said paddy procurement is underway in 18 of 30 districts, and the state has secured 10.50 lakh MT of paddy from around 2.30 lakh farmers during the ongoing kharif season. "The government has paid a total of Rs 2,350 crore to the farmers as MSP and input assistance for the procured paddy," he said. Paddy procurement will continue till March, and the government will buy paddy from all registered
India on Wednesday successfully test-fired two Pralay missiles in quick succession off the coast of Odisha, paving way for its induction into the military. Pralay is a short-range surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg. It is capable of carrying multiple conventional warheads and has a range of 150 to 500 kms. It is an indigenously developed weapon system featuring state-of-the-art navigation system to ensure high precision. The test-firing of the missiles was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). "The flight-test was conducted as part of user evaluation trials. Both the missiles followed the intended trajectory meeting all flight objectives as confirmed by tracking sensors," the defence ministry said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the DRDO, the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army, the defence public sector undertakings and the industry on the successful launch of the missiles. The successful completion of
Odisha Police intensified its anti-naxal operations in Kandhamal district to arrest more Maoists and urged people not to provide shelter to injured red rebels, a senior officer said. His comment came after the security forces neutralised four Maoists, including Ganesh Uike (69), who carried a Rs 1.2 crore bounty on his head, on Thursday. Additional DGP (anti-naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda on Friday said security forces were carrying out combing operations in the forest within Chakapada police station limits, bordering Ganjam district, with the hope of arresting more Maoists who might have been injured during Thursday's operations. "We appeal to local people not to give shelter to such injured persons. They might be Maoists hailing from Chhattisgarh," Panda told reporters. He added that more personnel from the joint force, comprising the Odisha Special Operations Group (SOG), CRPF, BSF and District Voluntary Force (DVF), have been deployed to strengthen the ongoing operations in th
Top Maoist leader Ganesh Uike was among four red rebels killed in a gun-battle with security forces in Odisha's Kandhamal district on Thursday, police said. CPI(Maoist) central committee member Uike, who carried a bounty of Rs 1.1 crore on his head, was the chief of the banned outfit in Odisha, a senior officer heading anti-Naxal operations in the state said. The gun-battle took place in a forest in Chakapad police station area, he said. "Four Maoists were killed in the gunfight. One of them was identified as 69-year-old Ganesh Uike, who is also known by his aliases Pakka Hanumantu, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamru and Rupa. He was a native of Pullemala village under Chendur mandal in Telangana's Nalgonda district," he said. The identity of the other three Naxals, including two women, was yet to be ascertained, the officer said.
Senior IAS officer Anu Garg was on Wednesday named the next chief secretary of Odisha, making her the first woman to be appointed to the post, according to a notification. Garg, a 1991-batch officer, will succeed Manoj Ahuja who will retire on December 31, as per the notification issued by the General Administration and Public Grievances Department. She is at present the development commissioner of the state. She had also scripted history in February 2023 by becoming the first woman to be appointed as the development commissioner, the second-highest-ranked bureaucrat in the state. She also holds the charge of secretary of the Planning and Convergence Department, along with the charge of additional chief secretary of the Water Resources Department.
Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said India has recorded the highest-ever addition of green energy capacity in the current financial year at 31.25 GW (Gigawatt), including 24.28 GW of solar power. Addressing the inaugural session of the Global Energy Leaders' Summit 2025 here, the minister also announced a 1.5 lakh rooftop solar ULA (Utility Led Aggregation) model for Odisha, which would benefit 7-8 lakh people across the state. The summit was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and attended by energy ministers of various states. After taking nearly 70 years to reach 1 TW (Terawatt) of renewable energy capacity in 2022, the world achieved 2 TW by 2024, Joshi said adding that the second terawatt was achieved in just two years. "India is a key driver of this explosive global surge in renewable energy. In just 11 years, the country's solar capacity has grown from 2.8 GW to around 130 GW, a rise of more than 4,500 per cent. Between 2