Page 2 - Odisha Economy

Nothing wrong in UP police diktat to display names of shopkeepers: Manjhi

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday asserted that he saw "nothing wrong" with fruit sellers along the 'Kanwar Yatra' route in Uttar Pradesh being asked to display their names at their stalls. Manjhi was responding to journalists' questions about the controversial UP police directive, which has faced criticism from the opposition and some BJP allies, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Union Minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, said, "I cannot speak for other parties, but I see nothing wrong with such an order. What is the harm if people involved in businesses are asked to display their names and addresses prominently?" "In fact, such display only makes it easy for buyers to spot a favourite stall. It is wrong to view the episode through the prism of religion", said Manjhi, who made his parliamentary debut, at a ripe age of 79, in the recent elections. Manjhi's stance on the issue differs

Odisha seeks higher allocation of Centre's funds for infra development

The new BJP government in Odisha has submitted a memorandum to the Centre seeking expansion of Paradip port, a second AIIMS at Sambalpur and higher allocation of funds to further accelerate infrastructure development in the state, an official release said on Saturday. The memorandum was submitted by Odisha Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo who attended the meeting of Finance ministers of the states before the Union Budget. The meeting was chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Saturday. The Odisha government memorandum sought higher allocation under the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SACI), 2024-25 to further accelerate infrastructure development, the release said. Apart from the demand for the establishment of a second AIIMS at Sambalpur, the state government also sought expeditious completion of National Highways, specifically the Coastal Highway and Capital Region Ring Road (CRRR) projects, in Odisha. The new BJP

Naveen Patnaik likely to become leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly

BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to become the Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly as the regional outfit has scheduled its first legislature party meeting on Wednesday. This could be Patnaik's first time as leader of opposition (LoP) in his political career, which began in 1997. Patnaik served as the CM of Odisha five consecutive times from 2000 until June 2024. If Patnaik takes on the role of LoP, the party may elect a deputy leader to handle day-to-day activities in the Assembly, party sources said. In the 147-member Assembly, the BJP has 78 members, followed by the BJD with 51, Congress (14), CPIM 3, and Independents 3. In the last Assembly, the BJD had 113 MLAs. While Patnaik is expected to be unanimously elected as LoP, one of the senior leaders of the party is likely to be his deputy in the House. Given the saffron surge, many senior leaders lost their seats, but a few managed to retain it. Senior BJD leaders who won include Prasanna Ach

'Pandian not my successor, people of Odisha to decide': Naveen Patnaik

The Biju Janata Dal suffered a defeat in the Odisha assembly polls at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party, putting an end to the 24-year-old reign of Naveen Patnaik

LS polls 2024 phase 5: Odisha records over 35% voter turnout till 11 am

Odisha recorded around 6.99 per cent voter turnout in the first two hours of polling in five Lok Sabha constituencies and 35 Assembly segments on Monday, officials said. Voting started at 7 am in Aska, Kandhamal, Bargarh, Bolangir and Sundergarh parliamentary constituencies along with 35 assembly segments within the jurisdiction of these Lok Sabha seats. Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are being held simultaneously in Odisha. Police said there was no report of any untoward incident in any polling booths Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer N B Dhal Monday said that the voting was underway in all the 9,162 polling stations across peacefully in five Parliamentary Constituencies and 35 assembly segments under their jurisdiction with some reports of EVM glitches. Till 9 am around 6.99 per cent of the over 79.69 lakh voters have exercised their franchise, officials said. Officials said EVM glitches were reported from Sundergarh Lok Sabha constituency and they were addressed immediately.

LS polls: People of disputed Kotia to cast votes in both AP, Odisha

Armed with two voter cards issued by two states, over 5,500 electors of the disputed Kotia region are eligible to exercise their franchise in both Andhra Pradesh and Odisha elections in the fourth phase on May 13. Twenty-one of the 28 villages of the picturesque Kotia cluster are claimed by both states and a case over the dispute has been pending with the Supreme Court since 1968. Due to the dispute, residents of Kotia get the best of both worlds since they have Aadhaar and ration cards issued by both states and receive the benefits of schemes announced by the two governments. "I will vote in both states. While the Andhra Pradesh booth is nearer, the one established by Odisha for our village is at Ransingh, and to reach there we have to trek a few miles. Nevertheless, we will participate in polls of both states," Tamal Kanaya, a resident of Tadivalsa village, said. "We are not bothered about the dispute between the two states. We vote in both states because we benefit from the sche

LS polls: Job promises galore as Odisha scores low on employment index

Despite declining by three percentage points in 2022-23 (FY23) compared to FY19, Odisha's unemployment rate remains higher than the average in India

LS polls: Temple narrative not a guarantee for victory in Odisha elections

Voters in Puri, Sambalpur say local issues, poll dynamics matter

LS polls: Opposition remembers people only during elections, says Patnaik

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday alleged that his opponents remember the people of the state only during elections and have no sincerity towards them. Addressing back-to-back election rallies in Bhawanipatna and Khariar in the Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency, Patnaik claimed that they disappeared after the elections. "Leaders of the opposition party tell lies to the people and shed crocodile tears during elections. They are only seen during elections and then they disappear," he said. He asked the people if his government's social welfare schemes were helping them, to which they responded with a loud "yes". Urging the people to vote for candidates of his party in the twin polls, he said, "Please bless Naveen Patnaik and vote twice on the conch symbol, one for the MP and another for the MLA." The chief minister was accompanied by his close aide VK Pandian, who claimed that Patnaik will take oath as the chief minister for the sixth time on June 9. He also criticised

BJP reduced Odisha's central funding, PM 'neglecting' people of state: Cong

The Congress on Monday said the BJP has steadily reduced Odisha's central funding in recent years and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "neglecting" the people of the state. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions to the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Odisha. "Why has Odisha's central funding steadily decreased? Will the PM commit to legal status for the SC-ST sub-plan? Will the Sitalapalli wagon factory ever be completed?" Ramesh said in a post on X. Elaborating on what he said were "jumla details", Ramesh alleged that Odisha has suffered "gross neglect" at the hands of the Modi government. "In their usual style, the BJP has steadily reduced Odisha's Central funding in recent years. According to CAG reports, Central transfers as percentage of Revenue Receipts have been consistently decreasing from 57 per cent in 2017-18 to 38 per cent in 2021-22," he said. Similarly, the CAG noted that the state's share of Union taxes, as a percentage of revenue ...

Odisha example before Andhra

Will Andhra Pradesh follow the Odisha model, voting differently in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections? Or will Odisha follow Andhra Pradesh, voting in new faces in both?

Odisha Cong asks ticket aspirants to deposit Rs 50k for campaign material

The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has asked candidates aspiring for party tickets in the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections to deposit Rs 50,000 each for supply of campaign materials. OPCC president Sarat Pattanayak has written letter to the prospective candidates in this regard. Pattnayak said the OPCC is open to accept cheques of Rs 50,000 from shortlisted candidates on behalf of the party to supply branding and campaign materials of an equivalent value to them. "The cheque will be in favour of OPCC and not in the name of any individual leader...," he said. The party had received about 3,000 applications from aspirants for 147 Odisha assembly seats and 21 Lok Sabha constituencies. Pattnayak did not disclose the number of shortlisted candidates who have paid the amount. Sources, however, said that many aspirants have already deposited cheques for the stated amount. The Congress state leadership justified the collection of funds from candidates and maintained that

Adani Ports set to buy 95% of Odisha's Gopalpur Port for $162 million

Adani Ports will purchase a 56% stake in Gopalpur Port from real-estate conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) and a 39% stake from Orissa Stevedores

BJD-BJP alliance possible in Odisha: Saffron party to decide today

The BJP is likely to announce its decision on the possible formation of an alliance with the BJD in Odisha on Wednesday ahead of the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state, sources said. Top state BJP leaders held a series of meetings in Delhi for the past three days, they said. The BJD is not ready to reveal its cards, while the state BJP leaders - president Manmohan Samal, election in-charge Vijay Pal Singh Tomar and others - have been camping in the national capital. BJP state leaders held a series of meetings at the residence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the sources said. A section of state BJP leaders were against stitching an alliance with the BJD, which dumped the saffron party ahead of the 2009 general elections, months after a riot in Kandhamal the previous year, they said. The issue of alliance between the BJD and BJP came for discussion after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Odisha on March 5. The next day, the BJD held a meeting of its senior ...

PM Modi virtually inaugurates over 270 railway projects in Odisha

Over 270 railway projects were unveiled in Odisha on Tuesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said. Among these are new railway lines, signalling systems, good sheds and a new Vande Bharat Express that will operate between Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar, they said. These were unveiled by the PM virtually from Ahmedabad along with other railway projects across the country. The new Vande Bharat Express train will operate six days a week, except Saturdays. This will be the state's third Vande Bharat Express train. The first two operate on the Puri-Howrah and Puri-Rourkela routes. The PM also inaugurated the Rs 234-crore Haridaspur-Byree section (16.8 km) of the Bhadrak-Nergundi third line, the Rs 131-crore Damanjodi-Baiguda section (14.6 km) of the Korapur-Raigada doubling project, Rs 167-crore Singapur Road-Rayagada section (9.2 km) of the Vijianagam-Titlagarh third line and the Rs 123-crore Similiguda-Araku-Gorapur (21.6 km) section of the Kotavlasa-Koraput doubling ...

Odisha govt approves seven key projects with Rs 80,125 crore investment

The Odisha government has approved seven key projects with an investment of Rs 80,125 crore in different sectors, an official said. The projects received the state government's nod at a High-Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday. These investments are expected to create job opportunities for 24,552 people in various sectors, including steel, green energy, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals, the official said. These projects are spread over Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Jharsuguda, Ganjam, and Bhadrak districts, he said. Granules Life Sciences Private Limited, a leading producer of paracetamol in India, has proposed to set up its pharmaceutical unit at Tata SEZ, Gopalpur in Ganjam district. The company aims to produce 4 billion units of paracetamol, metformin, ibuprofen and other pharma products, for which it will pump in Rs 1,100 crore in the Ganjam plant, generating jobs for around 1,500 people. Granules CZRO Private Limited will also

PM to unveil development projects worth over Rs 19,600 cr in Odisha today

The projects are from sectors including oil and gas, railways, roads, transport and highways and atomic energy

Odisha approves 27 new industrial projects worth Rs 6,134 crore

The Odisha government has approved 27 new industrial projects to the tune of Rs 6,134 crore across sectors, a senior official said on Saturday. The proposals got the state government's nod at a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary P K Jena on Friday. The potential sectors include aluminium, renewable power, manufacturing, aerospace and defence, food processing, apparel and textiles and IT infrastructure, the official said. The proposed projects are likely to create employment for 42,275 people, Jena said.

LS polls: Odisha extends farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another 3 yrs

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the Odisha government on Thursday decided to extend its farmers' welfare scheme 'KALIA' for another three years, sanctioning a total outlay of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the purpose. The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved three proposals in this regard, Agriculture and Farmers' Empowerment Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain told reporters. He said the state has been implementing the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme since 2018-19 as a majority of the population of the state is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Similarly, the state had implemented the KALIA scholarship to ensure the educational development of the children of KALIA beneficiaries so that they avail of professional and technical education in different educational institutions, Swain said. For hassle-free and smooth implementation of this welfare scheme and to bring the ..

RVNL's order book touches Rs 65,000-cr mark, plans to add foreign projects

Public Sector Undertaking RVNL's order book has touched Rs 65,000 crore, 50 per cent of which are railway projects, the company has said. RVNL is also looking for new projects in off-shore markets including Central Asia and UAE and Western Asia, the management said in an investors call. "We have got an order book of around Rs 65,000 crore, which roughly constitutes 50 per cent from the nomination, that is the typical railway projects, and 50 per cent from the market. In time to come, we should maintain an order book of around Rs 75,000 crore," top management officials said in reply to a question. Of the total order book, the share of the Vande Bharat trains was around Rs 9,000 crore, and Rs 7,000 crore was for several metro projects. The company has also bagged projects in the electrification and transmission lines among others. RVNL is also diversifying to other segments and eyeing many projects in the foreign countries, they said. On growth plans in offshore markets, the managem