Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Cabinet approved two major policies on development of ports and welfare of children at a meeting on Friday.
The Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took 17 major decisions pertaining to the departments of Odia Language, Literature and Culture; Skill development and Technical education; Women and child development; Agriculture and farmers’ empowerment; General administration and public grievances; Parliamentary affairs; Planning and convergence; and Water resources.
It approved the ‘Prarambh-The Odisha State Policy for Children-2022’ which entails children’s right to survival, protection, good health and proper education among other things for their holistic development.
The policy will further strengthen the state’s commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by ensuring rights of children in the state and will significantly improve the overall wellbeing of children. The policy has seven focus areas:
- Survival: Health, Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
- Education and Holistic Development.
- Child Protection: Child Abuse, Exploitation, Neglect, Maltreatment, Violence, Child Labour, Child Marriage, Child Trafficking, Drugs/Substance abuse, Online Abuse and other hardship.
- Identity, Family/Alternative Care, Birth Registration, Quality of Life.
- Special Measures for the Vulnerable children.
- Dispensation of Justice and Legal Provisions for Children.
- Children’s Participation.
The policy will come into effect within a year of notification and the Women and Child Development Department will be the nodal agency for its implementation.
The Cabinet also gave its nod for implementation of a master plan for transformation of Odisha University of Technology and Research with an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore. With this, the University intends to extend its advanced
technological facilities to the poor and meritorious students of the state by enhancing the existing student strength from 5,000 to 10,000 in next 5 years.
The Odisha Port Policy 2022, formulated by the Commerce & Transport Department for holistic development
of the entire maritime ecosystem of Odisha was also approved in the Cabinet meeting. The policy aims at providing comprehensive guidelines for integrated development of non-major ports and inland waterways of Odisha.
It will facilitate the promotion of private sector investments in maritime sector, helping Odisha emerge as a favoured investment destination and providing employment opportunities.
Currently, the state has 14 notified non-major ports, out of which the ports at Dhamra and Gopalpur are already functioning, while the ports at Astaranga and Subarnarekha Mouth (Kirtania) are currently under construction. This policy seeks to aid and promote development of ports and port related industrial development through improved port linking infrastructure.
The Policy also promotes other maritime ventures such as coastal shipping, promotion of marine tourism, multipurpose harbours, introduction of sea-plane connectivity, promotion of facilities and creation of infrastructure for ship building, ship breaking and related activities.
