Renaming schemes may cost Odisha government Rs 1,000 crore

The previous government spent around Rs 300 crore on preparation of health cards and branding of BSKY.

Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi

BHUBANESWAR: What’s in a name? Not much, you may say. But the exercise of re-branding popular government schemes of the previous BJD regime by the Mohan Majhi government may come at a cost.

The move to re-christen government schemes came to fore when Majhi while presenting the State Budget 2024-25 announced several new schemes and allocated funds for the renamed ones.

At first glance, it might seem like a mere change of names but a closer look reveals the renaming has both financial and administrative implications. Sources said the financial outlay associated with re-branding Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) as Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana (GJAY) alone could cost more than Rs 500 crore.

The previous government spent around Rs 300 crore on preparation of health cards and branding of BSKY. The decision to re-brand it as GJAY would cost the exchequer at least Rs 200 crore more as fresh cards will have to be distributed to the beneficiaries.

While Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling could not be contacted for his comment, admitting that fresh health cards would be distributed to replace BSKY, a senior government official said around 67.8 lakh families would be provided Ayushman Bharat card and the rest would get GJAY card.

Same is the case with re-branding of LAccMi, Aahar, Mo School, Mo College, Mo Bus, Mo Odisha Nabin Odisha and many more schemes. While LAccMI service has been discontinued as around 2,000 buses would be re-branded, renaming of other schemes has led to disruption of ongoing administrative processes as it necessitates redesign of all related materials including official documents, communication material and digital platforms. A rough estimate indicated re-branding of all such schemes may cost not less than Rs 1,000 crore.

Economists said re-branding incurs additional costs and causes confusion among beneficiaries leading to delay in delivery of essential services. Associate professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, NISER Amarendra Das said no person is above state or nation.

“Schemes should be named after the state or country or the CM or PM, if at all. This will save a lot of state resources. The focus should ideally be on ensuring their effective implementation,” he said.

Although the Majhi government reversed the decision to rename Biju Patnaik Sports Award as Odisha Rajya Krida Samman following public outcry and criticism from BJD, its stand on re-branding other schemes named after Biju Babu is ambiguous. “If the government genuinely values the legacy of Biju Patnaik, why did it rename other schemes and even the ones that did not carry his name? This selective approach suggests a superficial commitment to preserving past legacies,” said a social activist.