Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the Subhadra Yojana of the Odisha Government at the Janata Maidan here.

With the inauguration of the scheme, as many as 2500011 women will receive Rs 5,000 in their bank accounts, today. In total, more than 1 crore women across the state will be benefited under the Subhadra scheme.

Odisha Governor Raghubar Das, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Ministers Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan among others were present on the occasion.

The women who had registered themselves for the scheme by September 15 will get the first instalment through their bank accounts on September 17, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida had said.

The beneficiaries will receive Rs 10,000 in their bank accounts in two instalments in a year under the scheme. The money will be credited to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan and International Women’s Day (March 8). They will get Rs 50,000 in five years under Subhadra Yojana.

The scheme will be implemented within 2024-25 and 2028-29 financial years. The state government has made an outlay of Rs 55, 825 crore for this purpose.

The Prime Minister recalled that this was his first visit to Odisha after the new BJP Government had come to power, in whose oath-taking ceremony he had participated. He reminded the people that during the election campaign, he had said that if a “double-engine” Government came into force, then Odisha would propel towards progress and prosperity.

Modi expressed confidence that the dreams of various sections of the society ranging from villagers, downtrodden, Dalits, Adivasis, women, youth, and middle-class families would now be fulfilled. He was happy that the promises made were being fulfilled at a fast pace. Listing the promises fulfilled so far, he said all four doorways of the Puri Jagannath temple were thrown open to the public, and the Ratna Bhandar of the temple was also opened.

Modi added that the BJP Government was striving for the service of the people of Odisha and expressed happiness that the Government itself was going to the people to ensure their issues were resolved. Modi congratulated and praised the entire Odisha Government for this.

Pointing out that any nation moves faster only when the participation of women is equal, Modi said the advancement of women and their empowerment will be the key to Odisha's development. Taking a leaf out of the folklore of Odisha, Modi said that the presence of Goddess Subhadra along with Lord Jagannath here tells us about women's empowerment.

Remarking that Odisha has everything that is required for a developed state, Modi said that the talent of its youth, the strength of women, natural resources, opportunities for industries, and immense possibilities of tourism were all present. He added that in the last 10 years while being in the Centre, the Government had always looked at Odisha as a major priority.

The Prime Minister added that Odisha was today getting thrice the funds from the center as compared to 10 years ago. He also expressed happiness about the implementation of schemes that earlier never seen the light of day. Speaking of the Ayushman Yojana, the Prime Minister underlined that the people of Odisha will also benefit from free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh while senior citizens above 70 years of age would be treated for free up to Rs 5 lakh, irrespective of income levels.

PM Modi pointed out that there were many tribal areas and groups in Odisha that were deprived of development for many generations. He spoke about the PM Janman Yojana to support the most backward among tribes and informed that 13 such tribes have been identified in Odisha. Under the Janman Yojana, Prime Minister Modi explained, the government is providing the benefits of development schemes to all these communities. A campaign is also being run to free the tribal areas from sickle cell anaemia. In the last 3 months, more than 13 lakh people have been screened under this campaign, he added.

Highlighting the long coastline of Odisha, laden with immense mineral and natural wealth, Modi remarked that these resources should be made the strength of Odisha. He added, “In the next 5 years, we have to take Odisha's road and rail connectivity to new heights”. Speaking of the newly inaugurated rail and road-related projects today, Modi said that he had the privilege of dedicating the Lanjigarh Road-Ambodala-Doikalu railway line, Lakshmipur Road-Singaram-Tikri railway line, Dhenkanal-Sadashivpur-Hindol Road railway line to the country. He added that work was also started today to increase connectivity from Paradip port along with laying the foundation stone of the Jaipur-Nawarangpur new railway line.

Modi remarked that the new infrastructure projects will create a large number of new employment opportunities for the youth of Odisha. He added that work on Puri to Konark railway line and the high-tech 'Namo Bharat Rapid Rail' will also be started soon and the modern infrastructure will open new doors of possibilities for Odisha.