Odisha: BJD releases manifesto, promises free electricity up to 100 units

Bhubaneswar, May 10 , 2024 : The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha announced on Friday free electricity to consumers using 100 units in a month and a 50 percent subsidy for using 100 to 150 units in the state. Releasing the party’s election manifesto, christened the “Peoples Manifesto,” on Thursday night, BJD Supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the decision will help almost all the families in the rural areas, besides the lower middle and middle-class families in the urban areas. Patnaik said it would benefit about 90 percent of the families in the state. He said the manifesto, which will be recorded in the history of Odisha, will benefit all sections of people and will make Odisha the number one state in the country by 2034. He announced a separate budget of Rs 1 lakh crore for the youths of the state for the next 10 years, which Patnaik claimed was the first of its kind, providing a separate identity for the youths of the state. The BJD supremo also announced that two lakh government jobs will be provided in the state in
the next five years, and the student scholarships for girls and boys will be enhanced to Rs 14,000 and 12,000 per annum, respectively. All the students studying degree and diploma courses will be eligible for the scholarship, he said, adding that the loan for self-employment will be increased to Rs 2 lakh from the existing Rs 1 lakh. Patnaik claimed that Odisha will be the IT capital of Eastern India, and the economic system of Odisha will be strengthened so that Odisha will become one of the top three emerging economies
in the country. The BJD manifesto also announced sops for the self-help group of women, who are the main support base of the party. It said Odisha will be the first state in the country to provide interestfree loans to women up to Rs 15 lakh. The Self Help Group, the manifesto said, will have a financial linkage of Rs 1.5 lakh crores for the next five years, after which they will receive a returned interest of Rs 2500 crore. This will help the SHGs become small and medium entrepreneurs, Patnaik said, and he announced that the SHGs will be provided with Rs 20,000 crore in government business in the next 10 years.