Odisha Cabinet nod to state policy for kids, Rs 1,500 cr master plan for OUTR

Bhubaneswar: The state Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today approved ‘Prarambh-The Odisha State Policy for Children-2022’

The policy focuses on children’s right to survival, protection, good health and proper education among other things for a holistic development.

The policy will further strengthen the Odisha government’s commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It has seven focus areas.

The policy will come into effect within a year of notification and the Women and Child Development Department will be the nodal agency for its implementation, said an official.

Various departments of the state government, working in the field of child development, will develop state action plan through convergence approach, he added.

The Cabinet also gave its nod for implementation of a master plan for transformation of Odisha University of Technology and Research with an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore.

“With the transformation, the OUTR will broaden its horizon and give impetus to teaching and research,” said the Chief Minister in a twitter post.

The student strength of OUTR would be enhanced to 10,000 from 5,000 in five years.

The university will have separate schools for multi-disciplinary teaching and research. It will have industry-linked and employment-linked courses.

The university will introduce doctoral and post-doctoral programmes, said the official.