Page 5 - Odisha Economy

Schools, colleges in Odisha to be shut on Jan 27 for temple project launch

Schools and colleges across Odisha will remain closed on Saturday on the occasion of the launch of a temple redevelopment project in Sambalpur, officials said. The decision was taken to facilitate people to join the inauguration of the Samaleswari Temple Area Management and Local Economy Initiatives (SAMALEI) project, they said. All government offices will remain shut on that day as it's the fourth Saturday of the month. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is scheduled to launch the Rs 200-crore project, spread over an area of around 40 acres. The initiative includes beautification and peripheral development of the temple, a heritage corridor and modern amenities, the officials said.

Rs 800-cr heritage corridor project inaugurated around Jagannath temple

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday inaugurated the Rs 800-crore heritage corridor project around the historic Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri. The Srimandir Parikrama Prakalpa was officially unveiled by Patnaik in presence of Gajapati Maharaja of Puri Divyasingha Deb and representatives of around 90 temples and thousands of devotees. The project has been possible due to the blessings of Lord Jagannath, the CM said. It includes parking areas, a new bridge and a road to ease pilgrim movement, a pilgrimage centre, restroom facilities, cloakrooms, toilets and other amenities for devotees in and around the Jagannath temple, officials said. The pilgrim town of Puri has been decked up with flowers, colourful lights and graffiti for the occasion, they said.

BHEL gets 2,400 MW greenfield power project from NLC India in Odisha

State-owned BHEL on Wednesday said it has bagged an order to set up a 2,400 MW supercritical thermal power project (STPP) from coal PSU NLC India Ltd. This is the largest power sector order won by the company through competitive bidding, BHEL said in a statement. "BHEL bags an order for setting up a 2,400 MW Supercritical Thermal Power Project. BHEL has won the prestigious order under International Competitive Bidding (ICB) for the greenfield project on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis at Jharsuguda in Odisha," the company said. The scope of the EPC contract includes engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection, and commissioning of crucial equipment, such as boilers, turbines, generators, and other auxiliary systems, for the 3x800 MW thermal power project. The scope also includes boilers with biomass co-firing capability and highly efficient latest pollution control equipment. The project will be commissioned within 64 months. On commissioning, this plant w

Law and order has 'collapsed' in Odisha: Dharmendra Pradhan attacks BJD

Calling Odisha's Biju Janata Dal government as "arrogant", Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan alleged that the law and order machinery has "completely collapsed" in the state and victims do not get justice. Pradhan said this at a meeting in the BJP state headquarters here on Tuesday. "Ruling BJD leaders are too arrogant and the people will teach them a lesson in the next elections," the Union Education minister said. However, Pradhan's allegations were rejected by BJD leader Pranab Prakash Das, who accused the former of not doing anything for the state and also for his home district of Angul. He also highlighted bad road conditions of national highways passing through the Union minister's home district of Angul. Pradhan alleged that the ruling Biju Janata Dal party leaders were involved in the exploitation and killing of a woman school teacher in Kalahandi district. The prime accused in the sensational woman teacher murder case was killed inside the jail. "The government has no ans

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'Hope govt will fulfil our demands,' say drivers as strike ends in Odisha

The association of commercial drivers in Odisha has withdrawn its strike, as the cease work affected passenger bus services and transportation of petroleum products and milk. The Odisha Drivers' Mahasangha announced the withdrawal of the strike on Saturday night, the third day of the agitation, after getting assurance from the state government that their demands would be looked into. "We hope the Odisha government will fulfil our demands," Mahasangha president Prasant Menduli said. State transport commissioner Amitabh Thakur also said that drivers have withdrawn the strike and normalcy will return. Drivers across the country were on strike over stringent provisions for hit-and-run' cases under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which replaces the colonial-era Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Mahasangha was part of the All-India strike. The drivers also said that there was a provision for imprisonment of two years under Section 304 of the IPC for accidents. As per the provisions in the

CM Patnaik launches third phase of Odisha's flagship health scheme

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday launched the third phase of the state's flagship health scheme - Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY). Patnaik said with this third phase of expansion, it is estimated that over 1.10 crore families, covering nearly 90 per cent of the state's population will be provided health assurance under BSKY. The chief minister said that the BSKY will ensure that no family in Odisha is left vulnerable due to lack of financial resources to meet high expenditure for critical illnesses. The families left out in the first two phases of the BSKY, would be covered in the third phase, Patnaik said while launching the new 'BSKY Nabin Card' for the beneficiaries. "We are now launching the third phase of BSKY, where all left-out families of rural areas of our state will be assured of cashless health service in private hospitals, for all critical ailments," Patnaik said. Stating that the BSKY scheme was launched five years ago to provide health assurance to a

Odisha registers over 100% growth in GST collection at Rs 2,791 cr in Nov

Odisha registered a phenomenal growth rate of 100.77 per cent in State GST with a collection of Rs 2791.45 crore in November 2023 against a collection of Rs 1390.36 crore in the corresponding month last year, an official said. The progressive collection of State GST (OGST+IGST Settlement) up to the month of November'23 is Rs 14,913.16 crore against a collection of Rs 11,719.64 crore in November '22, registering a growth rate of 27.25 per cent, an official release said. The collection under all Acts monitored by the commissionerate of CT & GST, Odisha, including OGST/ IGST Settlement / VAT/ Entry Tax and Profession Tax during November 2023 is Rs 3,856.72 crore against a collection of Rs 2,308.92 crore during November 2022 with a growth rate of 67.04%, it said. The progressive collection under all Acts up to November 2023 is Rs 22,510.56 crore with a growth rate of 18.91% over corresponding collection till November 2022. With regard to Gross GST collection (CGST+IGST+SGST+Cess), ...

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik's former private secretary Pandian joins BJD

"What favours Pandian is there is no negative wave against him in the party," said Brahmananda Satpathy, senior political science professor

Odisha investing Rs 2,500 crore to support millet farmers: CM Patnaik

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said his government is investing over Rs 2,500 crore for providing income and livelihood support to millet farmers of the state. The state government recently launched the Odisha Millets Mission in 2017 with a focus on reviving an ecosystem of the cereal. For the government, the promotion of millets is about justice and equity to rain-fed farmers of Odisha, Patnaik said. The authorities have increased the direct benefit incentives for millet farmers and laid out assured procurement of ragi (millet), he said after inaugurating a two-day International Convention on Millets here. Odisha is the "pioneer in designing a people-centric Millet Mission with focus on livelihood and nutrition of tribal communities", he said. My government will put all the efforts to make Odisha become a centre of excellence on millet and contribute to economic growth, wellbeing, and health of the people of Odisha, Patnaik said. Noting that the United Nations

Odisha tightens security at Chhattisgarh border ahead of assembly elections

Odisha tightened security at its border with Chhattisgarh, where polling will be held on Tuesday for the assembly elections, to check the movement of Maoists, officials said. Koraput's Superintendent Police Avinabh Sonkar on Monday said counter-insurgency operations have been started by the security forces, comprising the BSF, DVF (district voluntary force) and SOG (special operation group), in at least five strategic locations. "Though at present the situation is normal, we can't be complacent. On the instruction of the Election Commission, adequate security-related measures have been taken along the border to check the movement of Maoists," he said. Security personnel have been put on high alert in Kotpad, Kundra and Boipariguda police station areas, he said. Two patrol teams are on the watch in Kotpad and Boipariguda, and one mobile team has been deployed in Kundra police station area, he added. "Checkpoints have been set up in the border areas, and all incoming and outgoing ..

Hitching a (political) ride: The road ahead for Odisha CM's all-weather man

Government employees, ruling BJD eaders, and service associations have queued up in Naveen Niwas, the residence of Odisha CM, to congratulate V K Pandian following his new assignment

Odisha nods proposal to expand coverage of infra scheme to govt hospitals

The Odisha government has approved a proposal to expand the coverage of a scheme to all health centres to improve infrastructure in these facilities in four years, an official said on Wednesday. The state government had earlier decided to transform 147 health facilities under the Ama Hospital scheme in the first phase. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the state Health and Family Welfare Department said, "After careful consideration, #Odisha government is pleased to accord in-principle approval for expansion of #AmaHospital scheme" to all district and sub-divisional hospitals, community and primary health centres in the state in the next four years. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has "approved expansion of the scheme to all government health facilities", the official said. These health facilities would be renovated in different phases in the next four years, he said. 'Ama Hospital' is a scheme of the government to improve infrastructure and ensure enough manpower in the state-run ...

CAG suspects corruption in distribution of student scholarship in Odisha

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has suspected fraud and corruption in the implementation of the post-matric scholarship (PMS) scheme under direct benefit transfer (DBT) in Odisha. In its report on the performance audit of the implementation of DBT in payment of PMS to eligible students in the state, which was laid before the state assembly on Tuesday, the CAG said, "Due to the absence of detailed checklist for inspection of private educational institutions, 5,185 beneficiaries of 15 ineligible institutions, had been granted PMS, amounting to Rs 15.79 crore, during financial years 2016-17 to 2016-20." The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in its revised guidelines issued in May 2018, made it mandatory for the inspection of private educational institutions by officials nominated by the district collectors. However, the CAG noted that there was no provision for inspection of private educational institutions, for sanctioning PMS. Joint physical inspections

Odisha clears 19 investment projects worth Rs 3,663 cr; to employ 13,500

The Odisha government on Saturday approved 19 investment projects worth Rs 3,663 crore. These projects, approved during a meeting of the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena, are expected to generate employment for over 13,500 people, an official statement said. The EPIC Group, a Hong Kong-based apparel manufacturer renowned for serving some of the world's leading brands, is poised to bolster foreign direct investment (FDI) in Odisha, it said. Trimetro Garments India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the EPIC Group, is planning to invest Rs 376.85 crore for the establishment of its apparel manufacturing facility in Khurda district, it said. The state government has approved proposals of several steel companies including Nezone Steel Utkal LLP, Advance Steel Tubes Limited, Nirmal Steels Private Limited, Rungta Mines Ltd, Ferro Tech India Pvt Ltd, and Super Sonic Logistics Pvt Ltd. Collectively, these companie

Odisha investing significantly to augment power infrastructure: CM Patnaik

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said the Odisha government was investing significantly to augment the power generation and distribution infrastructure in the state. Addressing a function in which 412 candidates joined the state-run Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd, Patnaik said reliable power supply is an indispensable entitlement of every citizen, and a basic ingredient of growth. "We must work for ensuring quality uninterrupted power supply to our consumers, farmers and industries," he told the recruits. Stating that his government has adopted the '5T initiative' to transform governance, Patnaik asked them to follow its mantra of teamwork, technology, transparency, time and transformation. "We will definitely achieve our goal of providing quality, secure and reliable power to all the people of Odisha," he said Among those who joined the OPTCL, 161 are electrical engineers, 54 office assistants and 197 electrical technicians. Lauding OPTCL for its works, Patna

First phase of Odisha metro rail project to cover 26 km, have 20 stations

The first phase of Odisha's proposed metro rail project will cover a distance of around 26 km and have 20 stations, according to the DPR submitted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had sanctioned the project on April 1, 2023. The first phase will connect Bhubaneswar airport to Trishulia in Cuttack. The DMRC submitted the detailed project report (DPR) to Chief Secretary P K Jena on Wednesday, officials said. The DPR was completed after conducting traffic survey, geo-technical investigation, topographic survey, environmental and social impact assessments, they said. The project will be later extended to Khurda, Puri and other areas of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack city, the officials said.

Odisha EOW detects 'rarest' QR code scam of Rs 14 cr, hints at Chinese link

The complainant had alleged that they had entered into Technology integration agreements with the Directors of Noida-based Company Payone Digital Services Pvt Ltd during April-May 2023

Odisha govt confident public debt to stay within limit of 25% of GSDP

The debt level of Odisha is now within the stipulated limit and it is expected to increase by 4% by the end of financial year 2026-27

Over 62,016 ha forest land diverted, 1.95 mn trees cut for Odisha projects

Odisha, one of Indias most natural calamity-prone states, has diverted 62,016 hectares of forest land and 19.50 lakh trees have been cut down for non-forestry purposes till 2022