On 18th December 2019, Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister (CM) of Odisha launched the “Jal Sathi” program in Bhubaneswar, to engage women from the self-help group mission Shakti in water distribution and consumer management. Also CM Patnaik approved ‘SAMRIDHI’, the new Agriculture Policy for the year 2020 for Odisha on 17 December 2019.Jal Sathi program:
i.The Jal Sathi program has been launched on a pilot basis under the 5T initiative (5T stands for Transparency, Teamwork, Technology, Time and Transformation) in Bhubaneswar.
ii.Under the program women volunteers will ensure the supply of clean drinking water through piped water systems.
iii.The program will be implemented in 7 wards of Bhubaneswar and the remaining places will be included in the next phases. The Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) and Women federation Jal Sathi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to connect consumers and the Public Health Engineering Organisation / WATCO.
Agricultural policy 2020- SAMRIDHI:
i.Objective: To ensure consistent sustainable growth in the income of farmers and to make sure that all policies reach small and marginal farmers. The policy will also focus on fisheries and livestock along with traditional crops.
ii.Components of SAMRIDHI: there are eight components that derive the word SAMRIDHI, Science and technology, Adaptation to climate change, Markets: domestic, global, physical and financial, Resource: use efficiency ensuring higher productivity, to create proper Infrastructure, Diversification of production to high-value agriculture, Human resource upgrading and skilling and strengthening Institutions.
About Odisha:
Capital- Bhubaneswar
Governor- Ganeshi Lal
Chief Minister- Naveen Patnaik