Bhubaneswar: In a major boost to healthcare infrastructure, the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has approved the Odisha Pharma and Medical Device Policy 2025.
The new policy will pave the way for establishment of a dedicated Odisha Pharma Park and Odisha MedTech Park, with the Odisha Pharma Development Cell acting as the nodal agency and IPICOL-IDCO tasked with developing the required infrastructure to draw large-scale investments in the sector.
Along with the pharma policy, the cabinet cleared six other proposals, including two flagship schemes for the textile-handloom and sericulture sectors – Mukhyamantri Bayan Shilpa Bikas Yojana (MBSBY) and Mukhyamantri Resham Bikas Yojana (MRBY).
Announcing the cabinet decisions in the Assembly on Saturday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling said MBSBY will see an allocation of Rs 490 crore over the next five years. The scheme, aligned with the Odisha Apparel and Technical Textile Policy 2022 and Industrial Policy Resolution 2015, aims
to attract fresh investments, strengthen local industries and generate large-scale employment in the handloom and textile segment, positioning Odisha as an emerging weaving hub, he said.
Similarly, the MRBY has been sanctioned Rs 274 crore over five years to revitalise the state’s sericulture industry. The funds will be used to upgrade infrastructure, skill development, silkworm seed production, species conservation and farmer incentives. Cooperative societies will be strengthened to ensure better marketing of silk products and protect farmers from distress sales, the minister added.
The cabinet also approved the restructuring of the Odisha Fisheries Service cadre to accelerate fish production and scheme implementation under the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development department. Under the proposal, the number of additional director-level posts has been doubled from two to four, joint directors increased from three to 19, and deputy directors from 18 to 119. Additionally, 195 new Group-A posts of block fisheries officers/assistant fisheries officers have been created.
The Higher Education department’s proposal for a uniform reservation policy for teacher appointments in all state government universities has also got the cabinet nod. Each university will be treated as a single unit for reservation in professor, associate professor and assistant professor posts, replacing the earlier department-wise system.