Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet Wednesday approved the creation of a Rs. 200 crore Corpus Fund for Odia Asmita. This fund is earmarked for the creation of the Odisha Asmita Bhawan, an Odia translation academy, a premier palm leaf manuscript museum, the Paika rebellion memorial, and district-level e-libraries, as articulated by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi post-Cabinet briefing.
The initiatives also encompass instituting Odia chairs in universities globally, subsidizing Odissi music and dance training, and forming a cultural troupe management system, he added.
The Chief Minister announced intentions to elevate Cuttack’s renowned Bali Jatra to international prominence and to provide financial support for Odissi arts under the ‘Kalakar Gouraba Nidhi Yojana’.
Wage increases for labourers were also ratified, with unskilled workers’ pay rising from Rs 352 to Rs 450, semi-skilled from Rs 392 to Rs 500, skilled from Rs 442 to Rs 550, and highly skilled from Rs 502 to Rs 600.
Majhi revealed that the cabinet, in a three-hour session, consented to five proposals following thorough discussions.
Furthermore, the cabinet endorsed hiring 18,788 junior teachers for Primary and Upper Primary schools, urging the School and Mass Education department to hasten the verification and recruitment processes.
He mentioned the inclusion of approximately 5-6 lakh additional eligible farmers, spanning medium to large scale and urban dwellers, previously excluded from the PM Kisan Yojana due to the prior Government’s KALIA scheme criteria.
Lastly, the Chief Minister declared the revival of 2,065 defunct lift irrigation projects and the reinforcement of 10,152 existing ones, with a projected expenditure of Rs 1084.38 crore.
