Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced significant development initiatives for Odisha during a state-level program in Balangir. The centerpiece announcement includes five lakh pucca houses for poor families in Odisha under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), following a fresh survey that ensures no eligible poor family will be left without housing. The houses will be provided in a phased manner, with joint central and state government subsidies for solar panel installations that will help beneficiaries reduce electricity bills to zero and earn additional income by selling surplus electricity.
Women empowerment initiatives include recognition that 29 lakh women in Odisha have become Lakhpati Didis, achieving this status a year ahead of schedule. The Subhadra Yojana, which provides women with ₹10,000 annually, was credited for strengthening women's confidence and dignity. A massive ₹10 lakh crore credit initiative over the next five years will provide loans without guarantee requirements to women across the country, extending beyond self-help group members to individual women entrepreneurs starting businesses or livelihood activities.
Agricultural development features prominently with the foundation stone laying for a new agriculture college in Balangir, which will be developed into the country's finest agricultural institution with support from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Government of India. Leading agricultural scientists will work with farmers to address their needs, and a comprehensive roadmap is being prepared to modernize agriculture in Odisha. This includes a proposed initiative to install solar panels above agricultural fields, allowing farmers to cultivate fruits and vegetables beneath them while earning from both agriculture and solar power. Eligible farmers previously left out of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme have now been added to the beneficiary list.
Rural infrastructure development will receive approximately ₹4,000 crore this year under the Viksit Bharat-G RAM G scheme, providing every panchayat with ₹25-50 lakh annually. Over five years, smaller panchayats will receive up to ₹1 crore and larger panchayats up to ₹2 crore for development works including road construction, drain building, school and panchayat building improvements, farm road connectivity, and water conservation ponds. Additionally, 1,700 kilometres of roads have been approved under the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to connect all remaining villages with pucca roads.
The program was attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Ravi Narayan Nayak, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Mukesh Mahaling, Member of Parliament Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, and local legislators Naveen Kumar Jain, Laxman Bag, and Rupa Mishra.