Odisha Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik disbursed
₹1,293 crore to 46 lakh farmers under the state government's flagship Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme and announced its extension for three more years.
Patnaik also inaugurated 30 KALIA centres — one for every district of the state.
"KALIA centres will work as innovation and resource centres," he said.
Under the KALIA scheme, the government provides financial assistance to needy farmers to carry forward their cultivation activities. A farmer gets ₹4,000 per annum in two instalments — ₹2,000 for Kharif and ₹2,000 for rabi crops.
Patnaik also announced the extension of the KALIA scheme till 2026-27. The government will spend ₹6,030 crore for this, an official statement issued by the CMO said.
This apart, the government also extended the purview of educational scholarships to children of beneficiary farmers.
It will now include several premier institutions in and outside the state. Earlier, the educational institutions for which scholarship was being provided were NIT, IIT, IIM and AIIMS, among others.
"Every farmer's family in Odisha must live with dignity, become empowered, and also take part in the progress of the state," Patnaik said on the occasion on Monday.
In the last five years, farmers of the state have been provided with assistance of ₹13,793 crore under the scheme, officials said.
