Research by Sage Publishing Lauds Odisha Govt’s Efforts to Manage Livelihood Crisis during COVID-19 Pandemic

Bhubaneswar: A research by global academic publisher Sage Publishing has lauded the Odisha Government’s effort to manage the livelihood crisis during COVID-19 highlighted the Odisha’s initiatives to manage livelihood crisis during the pandemic.

The partial and complete lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 caused enormous economic and social disruptions throughout the world. India witnessed the sharpest decline in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the unemployment rate rose sharply in the first quarter of 2020-21, the study revealed.

The research lauded the Odisha Government’s proactive measures like, increasing wage rate and providing extra work days in vulnerable districts that doubled employment generation through MGNREGA during the pandemic, and set a national benchmark.

The state government’s effort to manage the livelihood crisis was notable during the pandemic. Proper implementation of the wage employment programmes led to higher decline in the unemployment rate (UER) in Odisha compared to other states These experiences can be emulated by other states or countries, the research said.

The analysis of UER revealed that the unemployment situation in Odisha was better than the low-income states and overall India. The UER during COVID-19 (Sep-Dec 2020 to Sep-Dec 2021) was lower than the pre COVID-19 level in Odisha (1.6% in Sep-Dec 2020), compared to all India, where this was more than the pre-COVID-19 level (7.4% in Sep-Dec 2020). Odisha government had nearly doubled the employment generation through MGNREGA during 2020-21, it added.

A research by Global academic publisher Sage Publishing has highlighted #Odisha‘s initiatives to manage livelihood crisis during #COVID19. The research lauded Odisha Govt’s proactive measures like, increasing wage rate and providing extra work days in vulnerable districts that…

— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) November 28, 2023