On August 12, 2020, the Odisha cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved four mega drinking water projects in its Koraput, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Gajapati and Cuttack districts worth Rs 800.27 crore.
- These projects will provide drinking water to 6.07 lakh additional population in 911 villages in these districts.
- It also approved the financial bid worth Rs 1138.63 crore for implementation of the Gangadhar Meher Lift Canal System, an ambitious project that aims to provide assured irrigation to around 25,600 hectares of chronically drought-hit areas in Bijepur areas in Bargarh district.
Other approvals:
The cabinet also took several other decisions and approved 20 proposals focusing on industrial development, irrigation, some of which are as follows:
- The State Cabinet has approved the proposal to amend certain sections of the Factories Act 1948 to increase the threshold of workers in power generated industrial units from 10 to 20 whereas in manual labour intensive industrial units the limit has been increased to 40 from 20 workers.
- It also approved an amendment in Industrial Policy Resolution (IPR) 2007 and IPR 2015 to enable VAT (value added tax) reimbursement (fiscal incentives) substitute by net SGST (State Goods and Service Tax) incentives. The amendment will help the MSMEs and large industries to set up new units as well as in expansion
- A proposal for providing a government guarantee of Rs 1500 crore for the loans already availed by GRIDCO (Grid Corporation of Odisha) during financial year 2019-20.
- Extension of ‘Nirmal’ Scheme to strengthen ancillary services at public health facilities with an estimated budget of Rs 199815.46 lakh for a period of 5 years covering 1,864 health institutions.
Recent Related News:
On June 23, 2020 Adani Power Ltd (APL) has signed an agreement to acquire the 49% of stake(a total of 89,30,237 equity shares) in Odisha Power Generation Corporation(OPGC) from the affiliates of the US-based global energy company, AES Corporation(AES) for USD 135 million (around Rs 1,019 crore). The remaining 51% stake in OPGC is held by the Government of Odisha.
About Odisha:
Capital– Bhubaneswar
Governor– Prof Ganeshi Lal
