Odisha CM Mohan Majhi assures presenting 'pro-poor' and 'people's Budget'

Bhubaneswar, Jan 24 Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said that his government will present a pro-poor and people's budget for the 2025-26 financial year, focusing on strengthening the rural economy and betterment of the people living on the margins in the state.

Addressing the media after the consultations with key stakeholders during the pre-Budget meeting held at Lokaseva Bhawan here on Friday, CM Majhi said: "We are committed to presenting a Budget that addresses the needs of every segment and sector of society. Special attention will be given to strengthening the rural economy, supporting farmers, labourers, and women.

"Our vision is to develop rural economy through the ‘Viksit Gaon and Viksit Odisha’ initiative and ensure income sources are available in rural areas so that people don't have to migrate to urban centres."

The Chief Minister also highlighted that the state government's focus is on creating an inclusive and progressive budget. He underscored the importance of fiscal responsibility and revenue generation.

CM Majhi stated that the government is giving priority on the sectors like Industry and tourism. The Chief Minister also noted that emphasis is also being laid on building cold storages aiming to increase the income of the farmers.

"We are prioritising sectors like steel, IT industry including semiconductor sector, mining, renewable energy, petrochemicals, agro industries, port-based industries to boost economic growth. To ensure the Budget reflects the aspirations of the people, we are gathering feedback from citizens through emails and WhatsApp. This process will continue until January 31,” he added.

Highlighting the state's achievements in employment generation, CM Majhi said: "As per our promise to provide 1.50 lakh jobs filling up vacant government positions, we have already provided 20,000 government sector jobs and will give another 20000 jobs in the coming few days. We have set a target to fill up 65,000 vacant posts in various government sectors during 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years. Of this,40,000 jobs will be filled up in this financial year."

He noted that the government has so far approved investment to the tune of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in the industrial sector, which will create 1 lakh 10 thousand jobs.

Representatives from the different sectors and industries with economists, former finance ministers, and think tanks shared valuable suggestions by attending the pre-Budget meeting on Friday.

It is pertinent hereto mention that CM Majhi is scheduled to present the Odisha budget for the financial year 2025-26 in the Odisha Legislative Assembly on February 17.

Source: IANS