Odisha Cabinet Approves 16 Major Proposals

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Cabinet led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday approved 16 major proposals of different departments.

The 74th session of Cabinet Meeting was held today in the 3rd Floor Conference Hall of Lok Seva Bhawan, Bhubaneswar under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik,.

After the meeting, Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister Sudam Marandi, Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena briefed about the approved agenda items.

The Cabinet approved additional financial support to the landless agricultural households under the farmers’ welfare scheme, Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA).

The state Cabinet at its meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved 16 key proposals related to 13 departments, including one-time additional financial assistance to the landless farmers under the KALIA scheme, and making the recently-released Hindi film ’12th Fail’ starring Vikrant Massey tax-free.

The eligible landless agricultural households are being provided with Rs 12,500 in three installments to take up livestock and horticultural crop-based activities to further accelerate their agricultural prosperity. Now, Rs 2,000 shall be provided as an one-time additional financial support/assistance.

The state government also made modifications in the release dates of regular financial assistance given to the beneficiaries under the KALIA scheme. The Cabinet allowed the concerned authorities to disburse the assistance on any preferable date instead of the date earlier fixed by the state government.

The release dates for KALIA assistance can be further advanced than the above dates, i.e., April 1 onwards for Kharif season and September 1 onwards for Rabi season, as decided by the state government from time to time.

The KALIA scheme has been under implementation since 2018-19, aiming to provide financial assistance to small and marginal farmers (SMFs), including sharecroppers and tenant farmers as well as landless agricultural households (LAHs) in the state.

The Cabinet has approved an estimated budget of Rs 6,029.70 crore for the next three years (2024-25 to 2026-27) under KALIA schemes.

This apart, the Cabinet also approved amendments to make the existing Semiconductor Manufacturing and Fabless Policy 2023 more attractive for the manufacturers of semiconductors, electronic chips and related items.

The state government has decided to eliminate the previous 5 per cent capping for interest subvention for mega projects worth over Rs 500 crore which can now effortlessly access an upper limit of Rs 25 crore per annum for a span of seven years towards interest subsidy.

Additionally, such mega projects are entitled to reimbursement of R&D expenditures of up to Rs 2 crore annually for 10 years.

As for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI), all units are now eligible to apply for the incentive for a continuous period of five years within the seven-year period following the commencement of production. In terms of skill development, the eligible units will receive reimbursement of up to rs 2 core per annum for five years to facilitate the training of their employees engaged in core operations.

The state Cabinet also approved the proposal to make the recently-released Hindi movie ’12th Fail’ tax-free.

In the press brief held, Principal Secretary, PR & DW & Excise Sushil Kumar Lohani, Principal Secretary of Agriculture Department Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of School & Mass Education Department Aswathi S. and Commissioner-cum-Secretary of Higher Education Department Arabinda Agrawal were also present.