Bhubaneswar, July 10: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi chaired the Odisha Cabinet held on Wednesday. It approved five proposals including setting up a corpus fund for Odia Asmita (pride) and hiking minimum wages for workers.
At the second meeting of the Majhi Cabinet, the government approved a hike in the minimum wage, raising it from Rs 352 to Rs 450 for unskilled workers, from Rs 392 to Rs 500 for semi-skilled workers, from Rs 442 to Rs 500 for skilled workers, and from Rs 502 to Rs 600 for highly skilled workers in the state.
Briefing the media persons, CM Majhi said that the state government will allocate Rs 200 crore corpus fund for Odia Asmita (pride) to promote Odia language and literature.
The corpus fund will be used for various initiatives, including the construction of an Odia Asmita Bhawan, the collection of palm leaf manuscripts, the 'Kalakar Gourav Nidhi Yojana' for payment artist pension, establishment of an Odia chair at national-level universities, promotion of Odissi dance and music, establishment of the Paika Rebellion memorial and obtaining national status for Balijatara, said CM Majhi.
The concerned department has been instructed to prepare guidelines, and a committee of experts will be formed to oversee its execution, he stated.
Additionally, the state government has approved a proposal to appoint 20,000 junior teachers for primary and upper primary schools under the School and Mass Education Department. Also, around 2065 inactive lift irrigation points will be restored and Rs 1044.84 crore will be spent for this purpose over a period of five years, said Majhi.
According to the cabinet decision, 6 lakh farmers in Odisha will be enrolled under the PM-KISAN scheme.
"All farmers previously excluded from the benefits of the KALIA scheme will now be covered under the PM-KISAN Yojana," stated Majhi.
