BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged NITI Aayog to recommend the Centre for special assistance to Odisha to catch up with frontline states in the infrastructure sector.
In his interaction with NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and his team, the Chief Minister said that Odisha has made substantial improvement in the last two decades both in macroeconomic indicators and also in socio-economic indicators.
Odisha has invested heavily in infrastructure development and has become an attractive investment destination in the manufacturing and mining industries.
However, the State is burdened with infrastructural gaps and vulnerability to recurring natural calamities.
"This requires a special dispensation from the Central Government to help the State to catch up with the frontline states," he added.
Welcoming Dr Rajiv Kumar and his team to Odisha, the Chief Minister said this platform will help in sharing innovative and emerging ideas for development.
He said, “We would like to take this opportunity to present various longstanding and emergent developmental issues requiring the support of NITI Aayog and Government of India.”
Hailing the NITI Aayog for its support to States in identifying priorities, sectors, and strategies for sustainable development, the CM said that he welcomes more such consultations and collaboration with the States in course of strategy and policy formulation across sectors.
The Chief Minister said, "Our development interventions have been successful in combating Left Wing Extremism, mobilization and economic empowerment of nearly 70 lakh women through Self Help Groups."
He further said that Odisha has its own health assurance scheme for cashless treatment in empanelled hospitals with wider coverage to reduce out-of-pocket health expenditure.
"We are the third-largest contributor to the PDS rice pool of the Country. We have pioneered a conditional cash transfer system for pregnant women and lactating mothers," he added.
Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman congratulated the Chief Minister for the increase in State’s per capita income, improvement in agriculture and mining along with managing the fiscal deficit below five percent.
He also advised the State to improve its mining production from one percent to more than two percent.
He proposed the State set up an SDG monitoring unit and suggested switching to chemical free agriculture in the state.
Stating that every state has its own priorities and specificity, Kumar said that the Niti Aayog is keen to partner with Odisha for formulating a State-specific development blueprint.