Bhubaneswar: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for development projects worth ₹3,275 crore during his one-day visit to Odisha, marking a significant push for the cooperative sector, dairy development and internal security infrastructure in the state.
The main programme was held at the IDCO Exhibition Ground in Unit-3, Bhubaneswar, where several initiatives linked to the cooperative movement and policing reforms were launched in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Deputy Chief Ministers Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, along with several state ministers and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi.
Addressing the gathering, Shah said Odisha is a land rich in art and culture and is steadily moving forward on the path of development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He stated that India is progressing towards becoming a developed nation and emphasised the Centre’s goal of making the country completely free from Naxalism in the coming years. Referring to the vision of “Viksit India-2047” and “Viksit Odisha-2036”, he said that the new government in Odisha has initiated several programmes to ensure social and economic progress. Shah mentioned initiatives such as financial support of ₹3100 to paddy farmers and the Subhadra Yojana aimed at empowering women, stating that these steps would contribute to inclusive development in the state.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said a new chapter has been added to Odisha’s development journey with the launch of projects worth ₹3,275 crore in a single day. He expressed confidence that the initiatives would strengthen the state’s economy and benefit farmers, youth and women across Odisha. The Chief Minister also highlighted Shah’s role in strengthening the Odisha Police and said reforms undertaken in the security sector have started yielding results. According to him, the conviction rate in crimes against women has increased to 41 per cent in the first six months of 2025, compared to 6.7 per cent in 2023.
A major highlight of the event was the launch of Odisha’s Cooperative Policy-2026, making the state the first in the country to implement a cooperative policy aligned with the Centre’s vision of “Sahakarita se Samriddhi”. As part of the initiative, 1,566 PACS Common Service Centres were dedicated and several agreements were signed for strengthening cooperative institutions. An MoU was also signed for establishing a campus of the School of Tribhuvan Cooperative University in the state. Another important development was the signing of an agreement with Indian Potash Limited for the revival of the Badamba Cooperative Sugar Mill, fulfilling a long-standing demand of people in the region.
Several initiatives aimed at boosting dairy production under White Revolution 2.0 were also launched. The Chief Minister highlighted the contribution of the Odisha State Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation in strengthening the rural economy, noting that the federation collects more than five lakh litres of milk every day and supplies around 30 tonnes of pure ghee every month to the Jagannath Temple in Puri. A new milk processing plant with a capacity of 30,000 litres per day was inaugurated at Khordha-Tangi to further strengthen milk processing and distribution.
The Union Minister also inaugurated an exhibition on the new criminal laws, including the Bharatiya Nagarik Nyaya Sanhita, and witnessed the signing of an MoU between Odisha Police, the National Forensic Sciences University and Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar to enhance forensic investigation and training capabilities. As part of the police modernisation efforts, 20 cyber crime and economic offence police stations in 20 districts and 24 new police stations were virtually dedicated to the public to strengthen the state’s security system.
Earlier in the day, Shah attended the Raising Day programme of the Central Industrial Security Force at Mundali in Cuttack district. He later visited Paradip where he dedicated the Sulphuric Acid Plant (SAP-III) at the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited Paradip facility to the nation. Several digital initiatives in the cooperative sector were also launched, including the Registrar of Cooperative Societies Office Portal, the National Cooperative Organics Limited Direct-to-Consumer portal, the ‘Coop Mark’ initiative of National Cooperative Export Limited and an AI-based multilingual digital learning platform named ‘Savidya’.
During the programme, a video presentation showcased projects undertaken by various departments. A total of 69 projects worth ₹1,159.03 crore were inaugurated, while foundation stones were laid for 130 projects worth ₹2,116.06 crore, taking the overall value of projects launched during the visit to ₹3,275 crore.
