by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, News
Bhubaneswar : Odisha’s economy is estimated to grow at 7.14 per cent as against the national average of 6.5 per cent in 2017-18, a report said on Thursday.
According to the Economic Survey Report 2017-18, tabled in the state assembly, Odisha’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is estimated to grow at a rate of 7.14 per cent at 2011-12 prices, which surpasses all India growth rate of 6.5 per cent.
In terms of the size, GSDP at 2011-12 prices stood at Rs 2.30 lakh crore in 2011-12 and increased to Rs 3.23 lakh thousand crore in 2016-17.
It is further expected to rise up to Rs 3.46 lakh crore in 2017-18, showing a growth rate of 7.14 per cent compared to 2016-17, the report said.
The per capita income at base year price of the state in terms of GSDP is estimated to be Rs 77,193 in 2017-18, which experienced a 6.06 per cent rise from Rs 72,780 in 2016-17.
At current prices, the per capita income of the state during 2017-18 is likely to touch the level of Rs 92,727, while it will be Rs 126,349 at the national level.
The report said that service sector as a leading contributor to GSDP has contributed 38.54 per cent in 2011-12 which increases tremendously to 45.22 per cent in 2017-18 and surpasses agriculture and industry sector over years.
The sector exhibited an accelerated growth rate of 10.7 per cent in 2016-17 and is estimated to grow at 12.4 per cent in 2017-18, it added.
The consumer price inflation in the state exhibited a fluctuating trend and was the lowest level of 1.3 per cent in 2017 (up to November 2017) as against all India level of 3.1 per cent.
The share of agriculture has declined to 20 per cent from an overbearing 60 per cent in the 1960s, but the share of population dependent on the sector continues to be significant at around 50 per cent.
The report said there was a need for continued policy priority for agriculture, especially in its allied sectors, in view of the high employment potential and favourable agro-climatic conditions.
The mining, manufacturing and construction sectors were estimated to grow moderately at 4.6 per cent, while electricity, water supply and other utility services sub-sector is expected to clock a growth rate of 9.6 per cent, the report added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Bhubaneswar : Cannabis cultivated on 4,407.73 acres in eight districts of Odisha has been destroyed in the 2017-18 season, as against a target of 3,050 acres, an official said on Sunday.
During 2015-16 and 2016-17, this figure was 2,457.73 acres and 3,599.191 acres respectively.
Director General of Police R.P. Sharma said the process to identify cannabis cultivation in other areas was on.
He said a coordinated multidisciplinary approach supplemented by the use of satellites helped in achieving better results in inaccessible/interior areas in Maoist-affected districts like Kandhamal, Boudh, Rayagada, Malkangiri and Koraput.
The DGP said there was a sharp decline in illicit cultivation of cannabis in several districts like Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul and Nayagarh due to the constant efforts made by the district police and an awareness drive.
During 2017, as many as 420 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 700 persons were arrested and over 1. 861 kg brown sugar and 8,925 bottles of cough syrup were seized.
New guidelines for increased rewards to the officers involved, informers and other persons were issued in 2017 to encourage them to curb illicit cultivation of cannabis, the DGP said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Bhubaneswar : The Odisha government has sanctioned 54,275 houses for the economically weaker sections of society across 113 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), an official said on Friday.
This was decided by the Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee of the Odisha Urban Housing Mission (OUHM) under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi.
Considering the progress in the matter, Padhi directed the department to intensify the field-level supervision and expedite the rate of completion of the houses.
He also directed to fix an officer-wise target at the level of ULBs and to take stock of the progress at regular intervals.
The committee sanctioned 5,133 houses in the meeting at an estimated project cost of around Rs 156.40 crore and decided to connect each beneficiary in a week for facilitating completion of the houses.
The houses are constructed by the beneficiaries themselves and money is released to their account.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary G. Mathivathanan said that money support is being provided within two days of uploading of the photos of the house under construction.
So far, Rs 103.5 crore has been released to the beneficiaries with zero pendency for payment at OUHM level, said the official.
OUHM Mission Director Suresh Chandra Dalai said that from July 2016 to May 2017, around 29,797 houses were sanctioned in three phases.
Till now, work order has been issued against 24,117 houses thereby recording an achievement of around 84 per cent. The construction of these houses is in different phases.
The sanction order of an additional 20,345 houses was communicated to ULBs during November this year. The ULBS are preparing for issue of work order after due verification of land details of the beneficiaries.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Corporate, Corporate finance, Corporate Governance, Large Enterprise
Bhubaneswar : Odisha Chief Secretary A.P. Padhi on Friday reviewed the progress made vis-a-vis projects entailing an expenditure of Rs 900 crore under the Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC).
These projects relate to developmental activities undertaken by OMBADC, which was constituted with money contributed by mining lessees, in mining areas in eight districts.
“So far, the corporation has got funds of around Rs 1,000 crore. As of now, projects worth Rs 900 crore have been approved for carrying out developmental works in mineral- bearing areas,” said Padhi.
The issue of improving the living conditions of mine labourers also figured in the meeting.
Various projects like construction of pucca houses with toilets, drinking water, road connectivity, sanitation and afforestation on saturation mode were prioritised.
The state has identified 691 villages in the mineral-bearing districts of Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kendujhar, Koraput, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh to spend the allocated funds.
So far, 29,829 housing units and 217 drinking water projects have been sanctioned under the OMBADC.
Farm and social forestry on 1,938 hectares of land and avenue plantation along 535 kms of roads were taken up during 2016-17.
The Chief Secretary directed for completion of dwelling units in a time-bound manner and asked officials to ensure houses for homeless families in mining-affected areas.
The Panchayati Raj Department was directed to undertake a detailed survey on homeless persons and prepare a project for construction of houses for them. Landless families will get land under the state government’s Basundhara scheme.
Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan directed officials to focus on improving road connectivity to ensure basic services to mining-affected people.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Bhubaneswar : The Odisha government has incurred a loss of an estimated Rs 525 crore in two months after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system from July 1, state Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera said on Monday.
“Considering the 14 per cent growth in commercial tax collection in the last financial year, we were expecting to collect Rs 2,393 crore in July and August. However, we have collected Rs 1,868 crore in these two months, which is Rs 525 crore less than the target,” Behera told media persons here.
He said the state government would demand the Centre to compensate the loss.
The Minister said the GST on handicraft and handloom products has been slashed by the GST Council to 12 per cent from the existing 18 per cent.
He said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had sought full tax exemption on handicraft and handloom products.
“Considering the demands of Odisha, the GST Council reduced the tax rate on other handicraft goods from 18 per cent to 12 per cent,” said Behera.
The Minister said the GST Council has also exempted clay idols from tax, which was 28 per cent earlier.
The tax on ‘sabai grass’ weaving ropes and ‘sal’ leaf plates and cups was slashed to 5 per cent from 18 per cent while tax on clay sculpture was fully withdrawn, Behera said.
The tax on stone sculptures was slashed to 12 per cent from 28 per cent while tax on khadi clothes and fabrics sold by organisations certified by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission has been slashed, he added.
—IANS
