By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:Union Education Minister and Sambalpur MP Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has thanked the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi for presenting a budget of about Rs 3 lakh 10 thousand crores in the Odisha Assembly for the financial year 2026-27.
Shri Pradhan said that the current budget is a welfare and visionary budget for ‘Developed Odisha’. It will fulfill the hopes and aspirations of all sections of people along with the development of education, skill, industry, agriculture and tourism infrastructure of Odisha. The budget reflects the developmental vision of the double engine government. The poor, farmers, women, youth, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and disadvantaged groups of the state will be particularly benefited from the current budget. Social security will be ensured. Every sector from village to city will develop. It will strengthen the future of Odisha in the fields of education, skill development, healthcare, food security, sports, social and communication.
The current budget has announced to set up new universities in Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak and Jharsuguda districts, two new government engineering colleges in Paradip and Balangir, a College of Veterinary Sciences in Chipilima and two new campuses of ‘World Skill Centres’ in Sambalpur and Berhampur at an investment of Rs 278 crores, based on the National Education Policy-2020. Along with the redevelopment of SCB, Bhimsar and MKCG Medical Colleges, Odisha Biotechnology Research Centre along with Pharma and Medtech Parks will be set up at Nayagarh and Khordha. Visut, Burla and OUTR will be transformed into world-class technical schools and the Odisha State Innovation Mission will create new opportunities for the youth. Bargarh-Jharsuguda-Sambalpur, Berhampur-Chhatrapur-Gopalpur and Jaipur-Koraput-Sunabeda will be developed as special economic clusters on the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradeep model. The construction of Burla Ring Road and the development of the airstrip at Jamadarpali into an airport will strengthen the transportation and communication infrastructure of Sambalpur. The proposal for allocation of Rs. 10 crores for taking forward the initiatives under the Rare Earth Corridor is commendable.
Shri Pradhan said that the decision to establish Shri Jagannath Museum and Library at a cost of Rs 1000 crore in the state budget and to make Puri a world tourism hub is commendable. Along with the development of integrated tourism, the development of the Mahanadi coastal area at a cost of Rs 80 crore, the ‘Odisha Home Stay Establishment Scheme’ and the new Tourism Land Bank Scheme will give a new impetus to the tourism sector. Similarly, welfare programs like ‘Udyami Yojana’ for nano entrepreneurs, ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangal Yojana’, ‘Dalkhai Yojana’ to solve the problem of distressed migration and ‘CM Sampada Yojana’ for mining-affected areas, incentives for the welfare of kendu leaf tollers have been introduced, while schemes like the State AI Mission will achieve the goals of Developed Odisha 2036 and Developed India 2047, Shri Pradhan said in an X-ray.
