Odisha Economy Limping Back to Normalcy, CM Stresses on Strengthening Livelihood Sector

Bhubaneswar: With economy returning to its normalcy in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today stressed on strengthening livelihood of the people amid the war against COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chief Minister on Thursday chaired a high level meeting through video conferencing to review the COVID-19 situation in the State along with various sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, industry, infrastructure and stressed on creation of livelihood.

The Chief Minister urged all departments to accelerate livelihood programs.

He also directed the district observers to review livelihood programs during their tours to the districts.

Naveen also called for proper implementation of all programmes in the fields of industry and MSME.

If any problem arises in the sphere of industrialization, resolve it immediately, the CM told the officials.

It was learnt from the meeting that the agriculture, industry, MSME and other sectors of the economy are returning to the normalcy.

In the agricultural sector, 55.52 lakh hectares of land has been cultivated in kharif this year, which is 5 per cent more than the previous year. This year, Rs 9965 crore in crop loans have been disbursed, which is more than last year.

This year the demand for both fertilizer and Urea are much more than previous year, said a release.

There has been significant improvement in the steel and mining sectors.

The State Government has approved as many as 200 new proposals worth Rs 17514 crore between April to August this year to create more than 13,000 employment.