Farmers' protest over direct impact on the minimum support price (MSP)-based procurement mechanism: In the decentralised mechanism, the state government undertakes direct purchase of paddy or rice and wheat, and also stores and distributes foodgrain under the Food Security Act and other welfare schemes. Sanjeeb Mukherjee looks at how the Odisha model of decentralised procurement has a few key advantages, but certain challenges, too.

Can Odisha model of decentralised procurement be an alternative for farmers?

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) will invest Rs 61,000 crore to set up a naphtha cracker project at Paradip in Odisha, a statement said on Tuesday.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this will be signed between the Odisha government and the IOCL in January during the 'Utkarsh Odisha  Make in Odisha 2025' summit, it said.
The foundation stone of the IOC's upcoming Rs 4,352 crore yarn project at Bhadrak will also be laid at that time, it added.
The decisions were taken at a meeting between Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and IOCL Chairman AS Sahney in Bhubaneswar.
"The Naphtha Project in Paradeep has received in principle approval and IOCL will invest over Rs 61,000 crore for the project. It is likely to be one of the largest projects in the sector in the country. The State Government is an equity holder of this project, and will earn dividends in addition to taxes," said the statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office.
"It was also decided that, the foundati

The decisions were taken at a meeting between Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and IOCL Chairman AS Sahney in Bhubaneswar

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Police have managed to freeze a sum of Rs 4.65 crore out of Rs 7.5 crore lost by the Mumbai-based owner of a private company in a SIM swap cyber fraud, officials said.
In the SIM swap fraud, a form of identity theft, scammers trick the network provider into linking the mobile phone number of their target to a SIM card they have in possession and access to OTPs sent by the bank to the genuine person.
It is a form of account takeover where cyber crooks gain access to a victim's phone number. This allows them to assume control over the victim's mobile identity, enabling unauthorised access to personal online accounts linked to the number.
The private firm owner was duped for Rs 7.5 crore by cyber fraudsters in suburban Kandivali on Monday, officials said on Tuesday.
The scamsters got the access of the company's bank account with the help of SIM swipe and made multiple unauthorised transactions, an official said, adding the money was then transferred to various bank accounts in a span 

The private firm owner was duped for Rs 7.5 crore by cyber fraudsters in suburban Kandivali on Monday

Job creation, improving farm productivity, and mobilising public funds for infrastructure development were some of the issues that figured during the interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and economists ahead of the 2025-26 Union Budget.
The Prime Minister on Tuesday met eminent economists and sectoral experts at NITI Aayog to hear their views and suggestions for the upcoming Budget.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2025.
According to an official statement, the Prime Minister emphasised that Viksit Bharat can be achieved through a fundamental change in mindset, which is focused towards making India developed by 2047.
The participants shared their views on several issues, including navigating challenges posed by global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions, strategies to enhance employment particularly among the youth, and create sustainable job opportunities across ...

Prime Minister Modi emphasised that Viksit Bharat can be achieved through a fundamental change in mindset, which is focused towards making India developed by 2047

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Can Odisha model of decentralised procurement be an alternative for farmers?

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