Bhubaneswar, November 14: Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja led a high-level meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan to assess the state’s financial performance for FY 2025-26 and discuss governance priorities. The session opened with congratulations to the Indian women’s cricket team for their ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup victory, with Ahuja urging departments to focus on creating more opportunities for women.

The Finance Department reported a 13% increase in budget expenditure compared to last year, with 38% of the budget utilized by October.

Revenue collection also showed positive growth, with a 7.2% increase over October 2024.

The meeting reviewed the performance of ten key departments, with most showing improved expenditure.

Ahuja emphasized the importance of achieving self-reliance and outlined four pillars for strengthening development: a growth-focused mindset, business reforms, coordinated efforts, and large industrial clusters. The meeting also discussed preparations for the 5th Chief Secretaries’ Conference and Odisha’s Vision 2036 goals, with a focus on training, monitoring, and district-level visits to ensure timely scheme implementation.