Glory for educational institutes
Four educational institutions - National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, SOA University, IIT Bhubaneswar and KIIT University made it to the list of India’s top 100 higher educational institutions as released by Ministry of Human Resources Development under National Institution Ranking Framework. Utkal University celebrated its platinum jubilee that was attended by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Mo Sarkar at your service
The fifth tenure of Naveen Patnaik saw launch of ‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative to ensure accountability of public officials and provide service to people who are coming to Government offices for different purposes.
Officials were tasked to improve the governance by collecting feedback from people on behaviour and professionalism of officers. Performance of employees will be rated on the basis of the feedback and linked to their promotion.
The 5T game changer
CM Naveen Patnaik, who had emphasised on 3T in his fourth term in office, added two new dimensions - Time leading to Transformation to make it ‘5T’ charter for revitalising administrative competence and faster delivery of services. He appointed Private Secretary V Karthikeyan Pandian as Secretary of Chief Minister’s Transformation and Initiatives (5Ts).
Heritage conservation
One of the grandest plans of the Naveen Government was its ambitious World Heritage City tag for Puri. As part of its plans for a security corridor around Sri Jagannath Temple, it has been clearing encroachments.
The Government sanctioned Rs 3,208 crore under the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme in three years to transform Puri into a world heritage city, while a Rs 700 crore revamp package for Lingaraj Temple is on the anvil.
Rs 8.50 crore was sanctioned for the development of Baladevjew Temple in Kendrapara district.
Sports and Tourism get priority
After the outstanding success of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018, Odisha again announced to play host to the showpiece event of global hockey in 2023.
Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 will be played at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. The Government has planned to spend Rs 600 crore for makeover of Rourkela. Odisha Tourism conducted roadshows across the nation besides two overseas events to attract investors and tourists to the State.
Health for all
The State Government announced to invest more than Rs 1,000 crore for developing SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack into an AIIMS plus institute.
The premier institute will have an integrated ultramodern health system with a bed strength of 3,000. The Government also declared expansion of the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) at Phulbani to a medical college and hospital and financial assistance to 15 other DHHs.
Public services go online
In a step forward, public services were made online so that citizens do not have to visit offices. Solvency certificate was abolished and mechanism developed for issuance of income and resident certificates on self-declaration free of cost.
Recruiting agencies will allow applicants to declare their caste and resident status.
Best investment destination
Odisha emerged as the most attractive destination for investments during the April-September period as it toppled Maharashtra in attracting more investment in the first half of the year.
The State cornered about 18 per cent of the virgin investments drawn by all States and surged past Maharashtra.