BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of elections, the state government on Thursday decided to extend the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme for farmers for three years from 2024-25 to 2026-27 at an estimated budget of Rs 6,029.7 crore.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The cabinet also decided there will no fixed date for providing financial assistance under the scheme to farmers. The dates can be changed by the state government taking into account the prevailing situation.
Earlier, assistance under KALIA was released before the two cropping seasons, any time after April 1 and September 1. The cabinet decided the dates can be advanced in the interest of farmers.
In another significant decision, the cabinet decided to provide one-time financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to eligible landless agricultural households to augment their livelihood, substantially enhance their income and overall wellbeing. Eligible landless agricultural households are being given Rs 12,500 in three installments to take up livestock and horticultural crop-based activities.
Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management Sudam Marndi and chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said it will facilitate hassle-free and smooth implementation of welfare schemes to bring farmers to the mainstream and ensure their participation in the financial progress of the state.
The cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the Odisha Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy-2023 to attract investors for setting up manufacturing of semiconductors/electronic chips projects in the state. Under the revised provisions, mega projects exceeding Rs 500 crore investment can now access interest subsidy of Rs 25 crore per annum for seven years. The previous 5 per cent cap on interest subvention has been eliminated.
Such mega projects will be entitled to reimbursement of research and development expenditures of up to Rs 2 crore annually for 10 years. As for production linked initiative, all units will be eligible to apply for the incentive for a continuous period of five years after commencement of production. Similarly, eligible units will also receive reimbursement of up to Rs 2 crore per annum for five years to facilitate training of their employees engaged in core operations.
The cabinet also decided to extend grant-in-aid to eligible employees of non-government new aided highschools and sanskrit tols on the basis of Odisha revised scales of pay rules, 2017 (7th Pay Commission). Around 7,796 teaching and non-teaching employees 627 non-government new aided high schools and 39 sanskrit tols will be benefited.