Paperman Media | Bhubaneswar
The Government of Odisha and SELCO Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen inclusive and sustainable development in Southern Odisha.
In the presence of Chief Secretary Smt. Anu Garg, the MoU was signed by Shri Girish S.N., Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department, and Shri V.K. Joby, Chief Finance Officer, SELCO Foundation.
The initial focus of the collaboration will be on Kalahandi, Rayagada, Gajapati, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Malkangiri. The collaboration will seek to strengthen existing government schemes and programmes through technical expertise, innovation, capacity building, knowledge, partnerships and implementation support.
Key areas of collaboration will include sustainable livelihoods and local economic development, healthcare and nutrition, clean energy, climate-resilient development, tribal knowledge and innovation, skill development and entrepreneurship.
The initiative will involve coordination with the Panchayati Raj, Health and other relevant departments, as well as district administrations. Existing government schemes and programmes will be strengthened through convergence, technical expertise, technology, innovation and capacity building.
Special focus will be placed on strengthening livelihoods and enterprise opportunities for farmers, women, SHGs, FPOs, youth, artisans, tribal communities, persons with disabilities and rural micro-entrepreneurs through skills, productive-use technologies, access to finance and government schemes, market linkages and value addition.
A key component of the collaboration will be the proposed SEVA Hubs- Centres for Expertise and Enablers for Rural Transformation. These locally anchored platforms will support identification of local needs, programme design, convergence, capacity building, access to technology and finance, implementation support, knowledge management and scaling of successful solutions.
The MoU will remain in force for five years. Specific projects and initiatives will be developed separately based on their requirements. By bringing together community participation, technology, innovation and technical expertise, the partnership seeks to create new opportunities for sustainable development in Southern Odisha.
At the meeting, former NITI Aayog CEO Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam and SELCO Foundation authority Shri Harish Hande participated virtually.
Chief Secretary Mrs. Garg has said that for a Vikshit Odisha 2036 and a Vikshit Bharat 2047, we have three main pillars: prosperity, well-being, and equity. For achieving prosperity, healthy human resources and equal opportunities and inclusive development for all sections of society are essential. Therefore, health and equality are the two inseparable foundations of prosperity. Moving forward in a coordinated manner in these three aspects was given top governance priority to build a prosperous, healthy, and equal-opportunity-based Odisha.
In this context, Chief Secretary mentioned that the MoU signed today will help accelerate inclusive and sustainable development in the aforementioned districts of southern Odisha. The Chief Secretary has also instructed that the progress of related programmes under the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department should be reviewed monthly, with review meetings at the Chief Secretary's level held twice a year.
