Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday said that students are the future of this country and society, and hence the government has emphasised on to empower the students through education and training. Addressing the state-level working committee meeting of the Biju Students Janata Dal in a virtual mode, he said, “We are strengthening the education infrastructure of the state. Our skill development programmes are among the best in the country. In 2000, there were six universities in the state but today there are 18 universities. In 2000, there were three government medical colleges and now there are 11 government medical colleges. Many more are in the pipeline.”
Children of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes communities have been promoted. The state government has taken several steps to promote the Odia language and the Fakirmohan scholarship will be awarded to children studying Odia language and literature, the Chief Minister said.
To foster a culture of high-quality research and nurture innovation, a monthly fellowship of Rs 30,000 is being given under the Chief Minister Research and Innovation Fellowship programme. Besides, at the school level, the Students’ Academic Award, Students’ Leadership Award, and Students’ Merit-cum-Scholarship Award are being given under the Mukhya Mantri Sikhya Puraskar Scheme.
The Chief Minister further said that 15% of seats are reserved in engineering and medical colleges for children studying in government schools. In the 5T School Conversion programme, the infrastructure of more than 4,300 schools in the state has been enhanced. New hopes and new dreams have arisen among the students. Further, the college infrastructure will also be converted under the 5T Programme. “Recruitment has always been my focus. Regular recruitment is now going on in government departments,” Patnaik said.
“Odisha is now the second-best state in the entire country in attracting investments. We have received investment offers of more than Rs 10 lakh crore with the potential of creating more than ten lakh jobs. There is a lot of potential in the IT sector also. Global majors like IBM and Deloitte have opened their development centers in Bhubaneswar. Many more are coming,” he added.
“I expect all of you to be active on social media to counter misinformation. The opposition believes in false narratives to mislead people. Therefore, it is essential that we must counter them with true information and keep people out of their dirty tricks. Stay connected. Biju Janata Dal believes in work. Our ‘My Government’ today has empowered the common people. The government today is providing services at people’s doorstep.”
