The event is organized under the banner of Prachi Trust, a social organization.
As a part of the programme, thousands of youths gathered at the Chandrabhaga sea beach at around 5 am and pledged before the rising Sun God to work for formation and development of Odisha.
After the worship of the Sun God, Upendra Maharana, the successor of Bisu Maharana and Dharama, who are related to the great heritage and history of the Konark Temple administered oath to the youths on the occasion.
"The success of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is incomplete if places, like Konark, Puri, Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Sundergarh and Bolangir among others are not sanitized and cleaned," said the Union Minister while attending the ceremony for the Nua Odisha Nirmana Abhijan.
"Cleanliness is a social responsibility. The health condition of children in 20 districts of Odisha is alarming due to malnutrition. Not only the government, but a massive public awareness needs to be created to fight such evils. Similarly, someone has also to take the charge of guiding the 45 lakh youths of the State," added Pradhan.
A subsidized 14.2-kg LPG cylinder now costs Rs 487.18 in Delhi as against Rs 479.77 previously, according to Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest fuel retailer.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had on July 31 told the Lok Sabha that the government had asked state-owned oil companies to raise subsidized cooking gas (LPG) prices by Rs 4 per cylinder every month to eliminate all the subsidies by March next year.
Rates were, however, raised by Rs 2.31 per cylinder on the previous due date on August 1 and the oil companies have effected a larger hike to equalize that, sources said.
Since the implementation of the policy of monthly increases of Rs 2 from July last year, subsidized LPG rates have gone up by over Rs 68 per cylinder. A 14.2-kg LPG cylinder was priced at Rs 419.18 in June 2016.
The government had previously asked IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to raise rates of subsidized domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) by Rs 2 per 14.2-kg cylinder per month (excluding VAT).
The quantum has now been doubled so as to bring down the subsidy to nil.
Every household is entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidized rates in a year. Any requirement beyond that is to be purchased at market price.
The price of non-subsidized LPG or market-priced cooking gas has also been hiked by Rs 73.5 to Rs 597.50 per bottle.
Rates were at the last revision cut by Rs 40.
Simultaneously, the oil companies also raised prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by 4 per cent, in keeping with rising global rates.
ATF, or jet fuel, now costs Rs 50,020 per kilolitre, Rs 1,910 more than Rs 48,110 previously. This hike comes on the back of a 2.3 per cent increase effected from August 1.
Also, price of kerosene sold through public distribution system (PDS) was hiked by about 25 paise per litre.
The government is adopting the same policy as in LPG for eliminating subsidy on kerosene. Since July 1 last year, rates have been been hiked by 25 paise per litre each fortnight.
While Delhi has been declared a kerosene-free state, the fuel now costs Rs 22.27 per litre in Mumbai compared to Rs 22 previously. Kerosene was on July 1, 2016, priced at Rs 15.02 per litre in Mumbai.
State-owned oil firms revise rates of LPG and ATF on 1st of every month based on average oil price and foreign exchange rate in the previous month.
Today's hike in the LPG price is fourth since the May 30 order of the oil ministry to raise rates by Rs 4 per cylinder every month.
There are as many as 18.11 crore customers of subsidized LPG in the country. These include 2.6 crore poor women who were given free connections during the last one year under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna. There are another 2.66 crore users of non-subsidized cooking gas.
Putting the ball on Naveen-led Odisha government’s court, Pradhan stated, “Many States have reduced taxes on fuel and the Odisha Government should follow their footsteps.”
“If the rate of crude oil increases in international market, the States actually get the benefit. In 2014, the Odisha government was collecting less than Rs 3,000 crore tax from fuel and now it has increased to Rs 7,000 crore. Therefore, the State should cut the tax on fuel,” Pradhan added.
On corruption charges against different members and leaders of BJD, Pradhan said, “Naveen babu was never serious in curbing corruption.”
“Those who were expelled from the party earlier for indulging in corrupt activities have currently become his main associates. He is their ringleader,” alleged Pradhan.
#WATCH: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticises CM Naveen Patnaik over corruption charges #Odisha pic.twitter.com/4PG1CQQNse
— OTV (@otvnews) September 16, 2018
BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb reacted sharply to Pradhan's suggestion on cut in taxes levied on petroleum products.
“The Centre which was charging six per cent excise duty on petrol is currently levying 19 per cent whereas the excise duty on diesel has increased to 15 per cent,” stated Deb.
“I want to ask what the Central government did with the taxes that it collected during the four and half years of reign,” said Deb.
“The BJP has done nothing for Odisha during its tenure. The public knows it all and this in an attempt of the BJP to cover up its faults,” Deb lambasted Pradhan over the latter’s allegations of corruption against the BJD government.
The victims had released a video on social media seeking help from the Centre.
"I came across an OTV news report dated 30.05.2019 regarding some Odia people who are stranded in Dubai. Ten people who were working in the company Asia Pacific Building Contracting LLC, Dubai and accommodated at Saila, Sharjah are kept captive. They released a video about a month back asking for help for the immediate repatriation and their mobile numbers are now deactivated," Pradhan said in a letter.
He said that it has been ascertained that these men belong to Nayagarh and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
Pradhan apprised Jaishankar about the situation and sought the Ministry of External Affairs' support for the immediate repatriation of the victims to India on humanitarian grounds.
Earlier, when the matter was flagged on twitter, External Affairs minister S.Jaishankar had intervened and informed that the Consulate in Dubai is working to resolve the issue. Later, the Consulate General of India in Dubai clarified that 25 workers from Odisha, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan wanting to return and formalities for their return to be completed in a few days.
After #OTV report on 10 Odia Labourers being trapped in Dubai, External Affairs minister S.Jaishankar intervenes; Consulate General of India in Dubai says, 25 workers from #Odisha, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan wanting to return, formalities for their return to be completed in a few days pic.twitter.com/zxb23HD2Om
— OTV (@otvnews) June 6, 2019
In a letter released to the media on Friday, Pradhan sought the personal intervention of Goyal into the demands of the people of Kalahandi district for running two independent trains -- Bhubaneswar-Jagdalpur-Bhubaneswar and Bhubaneswar-Junagarh-Bhubaneswar.
At present, the trains start from Bhubaneswar as one amalgamated train with 10 coaches bound for Junagarh and 12 coaches destined for Jagdalpur with a split up at Rayagada, informed the Minister.
On return journey, also the two separate trains are amalgamated at Rayagada and run towards Bhubaneswar as one train, he added.
"The present system creates many difficulties for the passengers especially from Kalahandi. Sometimes, passengers are not able to board the proper coaches due to the complications involved. I am also given to understand that if this proposal is accepted the train shall run in full capacity due to huge demand of connecting between Bhubaneswar, the capital city and Kalahandi," said Pradhan.
Pradhan wrote a letter to Paswan the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and sought his personal intervention and direct the concerned officials for calling off the merger of CWC Bhubaneswar region with CWC Patna region in the larger interest of the people of Odisha.
"In consideration of the vital support provided by the Bhubaneswar region to the state in times of natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, it is imperative that the current CWC Bhubaneswar region be not merged with CWC Patna region due to geographical and administrative burdens," Pradhan said in his letter dated August 3 which was released to media on Monday.
Pradhan's letter to Paswan came to the fore after Odisha's Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister R P Swain making similar request to the Centre. Swain had written the letter to stop merger in the wake of several MLAs cutting across party lines expressed concern over the proposal.
Pradhan said the CWC Bhubaneswar regional office was established in 1990 after bifurcation from Patna region to tackle geographical challenges, increase administrative efficiency and monitoring in affairs.
He said currently, 21 warehouses in the Bhubaneswar region have an operational capacity of 3.48 MT and have been running at 90 per cent occupancy with consistent profitability.
"It is worth noting that over 90 per cent of the staff at the regional office are Odias," Pradhan said in the letter.
He pointed out that the Bhubaneswar regional office of CWC is playing a crucial role in storage and warehousing of various essential commodities of Food Corporation of India (FCI) as well as Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation (OSSC) which have provided crucial assistance during disaster relief situations in the state such as the recent cyclone Fani.
“There is a strong demand from commuters for a direct flight between Jharsuguda and Mumbai,” Pradhan wrote in a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister.
“I also request you to facilitate the availability of slots to the airlines from Mumbai to Jharsuguda which is the main concern for airlines to start the air service,” he added.
The Union Minister said that Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme truly gave wings to the dreams and aspirations of the common man and Odisha reaped the benefits of the visionary mission with the launch of Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda.
He said the direct flight operations earlier launched by SpiceJet from Jharsuguda airport to New Delhi and Hyderabad have been a great commercial success. However, there is a lack of direct air connectivity between western Odisha and India's commercial capital, Mumbai, he added.
“Keeping in mind the benefit of the people of western part of Odisha, I request your personal intervention in commencement of a direct flight between Jharsuguda and Mumbai at the earliest,” Pradhan added.
Holding a review meeting of state and central government officials through video link, Pradhan said Odisha had taken remarkable initiatives for making the state an investment destination.
"The successful management of cyclone has opened new avenues for investment. The state is ready for the next level of industrial development," he said and advised the central government and the state departments to work in tandem over the ongoing and upcoming proposals through different sectoral meetings.
Issues relating to the higher level of industrialisation, both in the MSME and large investment sectors, was emphasized at the meeting.
The proposal for facilitating FDI in focus sectors, the participation of Odisha in all industry promotion initiatives and inclusion of the Odisha economic corridor under the Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) was also taken up.
"We can assure hassle-free business eco-system to investors along with expeditious grounding of projects. The state has set higher growth trajectories for the development of industrial infrastructure. Sectoral industrial parks with the delineated land bank are in 'ready to move' condition. We need to develop more infrastructure and industrial townships around the industrial clusters," said Odisha Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy.
Outlining the competitive advantage of Odisha as an investment destination, Industry Secretary Hemant Sharma said along with strategic coastal location, major ports and mineral deposit, the state had developed industry-ready land bank comprising 505 sq kms in different locations.
"Being a power surplus state with 17,600 MW production, Odisha assures quality power supply to investors. There is also natural gas pipeline network across the state. The single-window clearance system with robust online 'Go Swift' portal ensures timely delivery of support services to investors. The state also has an abundance of skilled manpower," Sharma said.
He also briefed the policy frameworks for the promotion of industries in sectors, like mining and metals, petrochemicals, chemicals and plastics, textiles and apparel, IT, ITes and electronics manufacturing food processing and tourism.
(IANS)
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Speaking loud and clear he claimed that Odisha government had demanded an MSP of Rs 2,930/quintal for its farmers.
“The State Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution to increase the MSP of Paddy to Rs 2,930 per quintal,” claimed Patra.
Peeling off the political rhetoric and a reality check show that sans the unanimous resolution (political), the Odisha government had never placed the cost of production figure of Rs 2,930 per quintal before the CACP (Commission of Agriculture Cost and Prices) – the body that estimates the MSP for crops, including paddy.
Here is a big bombshell. The CACP data reveals that while for the two successive years (2019-20 and 2020-21), Odisha government didn’t supply the projected per quintal cost of paddy produced in the State; on the other hand, in the two preceding years (2017-18 and 2018-19), the projected cost of production per quintal supplied to the CACP stood at only Rs 2,334.
While the headline MSP offer of Rs 2,930/quintal looks an attractive political offer for the political parties, but such banner politicking over MSP has simply buried the existing grave farm crisis at hand in the sands.
WHY ODISHA FARMERS BEAR LOSS?
For Odisha, the distressing home-truth is the cost of production of paddy per hectare is the third highest in the country. The table is led by Maharashtra and West Bengal.
SAMPLE THE TRAGEDY:
Odisha VS Andhra Pradesh
The tragedy is farmers in Odisha invest fewer amounts than their Andhra counterparts to cultivate a hectare land. But when it comes to the cost of producing a quintal paddy, the State farmers incur a higher cost than their AP counterparts.
And when CACP announces MSP for paddy based on a national average value, farmers in Odisha receive a very meagre net return over their produces vis-à-vis AP farmers.
HOW THIS IS POSSIBLE?
Consider The MSP Equation:
Andhra Pradesh: Which has submitted the 2020-21 cost of production estimates to the CACP, has a cost of cultivation (A2 + Family Labour (FL)) of around Rs 54,542 per hectare.
Odisha: In contrast, the cost of cultivation per hectare had been estimated less at Rs 45,818 per hectare.
However, when the numbers were translated into the cost of production (CoP) per quintal, the arithmetic turns skewed.
Andhra Pradesh: CACP had estimated CoP at Rs 1,591/quintal.
Odisha: The State government has not supplied any projected cost to the CACP for two consecutive years. So, CACP taking into account earlier cost and production estimates had estimated the CoP higher at Rs 1,831/quintal.
Big Takeaway: Despite the lower cost of cultivation in Odisha, the farmer in the State bears a higher production cost.
The Consequence: When it comes to gross returns for farmers over the cost it incurred to cultivate a hectare land, farmers in Andhra Pradesh earned a handsome return of 68 per cent over the A2+FL costs.
But Odisha farmers could see a return of mere 7 per cent – a hand to mouth return. (see the image above)
REASON BEHIND TOPSY TURVY
The CACP report has attributed the topsy-turvy paddy arithmetic in the State to lower yield per hectare.
It said, “When the yield rate in AP is estimated at 58.7 quintals per hectare, the figure stands at 36.8 quintals in Odisha.”
WHAT AILS PRODUCTIVITY IN ODISHA?
The main reason behind lower productivity is the lack of irrigation access to the agricultural operations in Odisha, reveals the CACP report 2020. The bandwagon effect of poor irrigation coverage is - low seed replacement ratio, lesser fertiliser and pesticide use, below par investment in farm mechanisation – which together will pull down the yield per hectare.
It says,
“It is observed that both levels and growth in productivity in rain-fed areas is much lower and variable compared to those in irrigated regions. Lack of irrigation makes agricultural operations riskier as it is totally exposed to the uncertainties of monsoon and discourages investment by farmers. Thus poor productivity of crops in rain-fed regions emphasizes the importance of irrigation.”
Deducing empirical evidence, the report further pointed out that the benefits of expanding irrigation can be assessed from the fact that there is a high degree of positive correlation (0.9) between foodgrain productivity and irrigation coverage.
It then cited the instance of Punjab, which has the highest irrigation coverage (99%) and also had the highest productivity (46.6 QTL/ha).
In contrast, both irrigation coverage (18%) and foodgrains productivity (10.7 QTL/ha) was the lowest in Maharashtra.
The irrigation coverage in Odisha stands at mere around 27 per cent.
Despite the country’s fifth-largest producer of rice, Odisha failed to figure in the top-10 states, which included neighbouring Chhattisgarh, in the indices of the total area covered under micro-irrigation under PMKSY Per Drop More Crop scheme. (see the image above)
The Final Takeaway: Instead of taking the rhetoric course over MSP, Odisha government needs to fix the ails gripping the paddy production in the State.