Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana’ (BKRY) and inaugurated 1,000 anganwadi buildings here as part of the celebration marking birth centenary of legendary Biju Patnaik.
About Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana :
This scheme will create awareness on gender discrimination against girls, their health, nutrition and education
- The objective of the scheme is to improve Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in the three districts.
- It will ensure enrollment of girls in elementary education, tracking dropout girls from schools and creating a better environment for them.
- The scheme, announced in the state’s budget, will be implemented in Ganjam, Dhenkanal and Angul districts in the first phase. The three districts were identified as the places where the girl child sex ratio at birth is low in comparison to other districts of Odisha.
The Yojana aims at,
- Providing elementary education to girls,
- Provision of toilets for girls in every school,
- Self defense training for girls,
- Tracking dropout ratio of girls from schools,
- Promotion of access to education,
- Sensitizing adolescent girls on sexual and reproductive health issues,
- Training of elected representatives/grassroots functionaries as community champions to mobilise communities to improveCSRÂ and girls’ education.
It is noted that the state has as many as 71,306 anganwadi centres at present, only 31,175 centres have their own buildings even as buildings for 15,650 centres are under construction and also plan to construct 24,000 new ‘anganwadi centres’ in next four years.
About Odisha :
Odisha is one of the 29 states of India, located in the eastern coast. It is surrounded by the states of West Bengal to the north-east, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and north-west, and Andhra Pradesh to the south and south-west.
- Odisha has 485 kilometres of coastline along the Bay of Bengal on its east, from Balasore to Malkangiri. It is the 9th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. Odia is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by 33.2 million according to the 2001 Census.
- The ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in 261 BC resulting in the Kalinga War, coincides with the borders of modern-day Odisha.
- The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India, and consisted predominantly of Odia-speaking regions.
- April 1 is celebrated as Odisha Day. The region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned in India’s national anthem, “Jana Gana Mana”.
- Cuttack was made the capital of the region by Anantavarman Chodaganga  after which the city was used as the capital by many rulers, through the British era until 1948. Thereafter, Bhubaneswar became the capital of Odisha.
