The Odisha government has approved 12 major proposals spanning fisheries, infrastructure, digital governance, water resources, energy and education, with a strong focus on boosting the state's blue economy, expanding shrimp cultivation, strengthening deep-sea fishing, improving urban connectivity and extending welfare measures for school students.
Key Decisions at the 43rd State Cabinet Meeting
The decisions were taken at the 43rd State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Addressing the media, Chief Secretary Anu Garg outlined the key approvals.
Expansion of Shrimp Cultivation
The Cabinet approved a comprehensive regulatory framework and operational guidelines for the promotion and culture of wild white-leg shrimp in Odisha. The new policy covers inland saline waters, brackish waters and areas beyond the jurisdiction of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority. As part of the state's vision to establish a Shrimp Export Mission, the Cabinet expanded the permissible area for shrimp cultivation from two km to 10 km beyond the high-tide line. This move is expected to bring an additional 25,000 hectares under shrimp farming, enabling more people to take up aquaculture. The government aims to increase annual brackish water shrimp production from 1.6 lakh tonnes to 9 lakh tonnes and raise seafood exports from the current Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore by 2036, coinciding with Odisha's centenary year.
Deep-Sea Fishing Mission
The Cabinet also approved the launch of a Rs 2,295-crore deep-sea fishing mission to modernise the marine fisheries sector. Implemented in mission mode by converging various Central and state government schemes, the initiative will support the procurement of modern deep-sea fishing vessels, upgraded trawlers and mother vessels, besides developing fishing harbours, seafood parks, cold chain infrastructure and value addition facilities. The mission also envisages digital fishery governance, vessel monitoring systems, marine conservation measures and the establishment of a Blue Economy Hub (B-Hub) as a knowledge centre. The government expects the initiative to generate an additional two lakh metric tonnes of marine fish production, create around 50,000 jobs and increase annual marine exports to nearly Rs 5,000 crore by 2036.
Digital Infrastructure Development
In the digital infrastructure sector, the Cabinet approved the establishment of a Tier-3 compliant state-owned Data Centre 2.0 in Bhubaneswar at an estimated cost of Rs 268 crore. The facility is expected to strengthen government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B) and government-to-citizen (G2C) digital services.
Urban Mobility and Road Projects
To improve urban mobility in the capital, the Cabinet cleared two major road infrastructure projects — the Kalinga Stadium–Raghunathpur Bridge corridor and the Jayadev Vihar–Nandankanan Road project. The projects, costing Rs 579 crore, are scheduled for completion within 24 months and will include flyovers, underpasses, parking facilities, subways and commercial development to ease traffic congestion and improve connectivity. In Sundargarh district, the Cabinet approved construction of the 6.8-km Dudka–Gopalpur–Topariya diversion road at a cost of Rs 160 crore to improve connectivity and support mining and tourism activities.
Energy Infrastructure
The Cabinet also approved the allocation of 200 acres of land by the Revenue Department for the construction of three 765-kV grid substations to strengthen the state's power transmission infrastructure.
Education Sector: Midday Meal Extension
In the education sector, the Cabinet decided to extend the School and Mass Education Department's midday meal scheme to students of Classes 9 and 10. The programme will continue for the next four years, benefiting approximately 7.41 lakh students, with an estimated expenditure of Rs 4,224 crore over five years.
