Bhubaneswar (Odisha- India), April 9 (ANI): In a first, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is on Japan visit, held a virtual Cabinet meeting from Koyoto.He is leading a high-level delegation there to attract investment in Odisha. In a first, Patnaik held a digital cabinet meeting from the Kyoto, about 6000 kilometres from Odisha, while his cabinet colleagues joined him virtually from here. Many decisions were taken in the meeting.
Informing about the decisions, Minister of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said, the cabinet gave a nod to a proposal to establish a Directorate of ‘Odisha Paribar’ to connect with the diaspora.
“In a historic decision today State cabinet approved a proposal to establish a “Directorate of Odisha Paribar” to create a one-stop point of contact and support system for Pravasi Odias, who live in other parts of the country and across the world,” the minister added.
The state cabinet also approved the provision of Rs 313.61 crore to be spent during 2023-28 for the implementation of the State Sector Scheme — Support to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). The State Cabinet has taken a decision for the execution of piped water supply projects for a few districts, the minister further informed.
“In CM Patnaik’s numerous visits to different parts of the States and a few countries, most of these associations have been requesting the Chief Minister to have a mechanism whereby people from Odisha spread across other Indian states and other countries can contribute and be a part of this transformative journey,” a official statement added.
During his current trip to Japan, Chief Minister met the people from Odisha who requested to have a formal mechanism whereby the efforts of the people of Odisha in spreading the Odia language literature art culture including the Jagannath Culture could be made more effective, statement mentioned.
In other development, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, hosted a roundtable discussion in Kyoto with a focus on opportunities for collaboration between Japan and Odisha in Tourism and Sports. The discussion was attended by major tour operators and representatives of the hospitality sector from Japan and participation from various Japanese sports associations and representatives from the sports sector.
During the discussion, the Chief Minister highlighted the immense potential of Odisha as a tourist destination, with a particular emphasis on leveraging Odisha’s rich Buddhist tradition, especially the heritage sites in Dhauli, Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri. He spoke about the various initiatives undertaken by the Government of Odisha to promote tourism and improve tourism infrastructure in the state.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the significant strides made by Odisha in the sports sector and expressed his hope for collaboration with Japanese sports associations and universities.
CM Patnaik highlighted the Government of Odisha’s focus on the field of hockey. He informed the audience about the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, the world’s largest hockey stadium in terms of seating capacity and how it was built in a record 15 months’ time. He also spoke about the focus of the Government of Odisha on improving sports at the grassroots level.
A roundtable discussion took place attended by the Japanese and Odisha delegations to explore avenues of collaboration in tourism and sports. The meeting concluded with the participants expressing their commitment to working towards strengthening ties between Japan and Odisha in these critical sectors.
The Principal Secretary Industries Hemant Sharma made a detailed presentation on the Tourism sector in Odisha and the opportunities with State policy. Secretary Sports Vineel Krishna made a presentation on the sports sector-related activities and the unique partnership model promoted by the state.
