As Odisha continues its fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the State government on Friday announced a ₹17,000 crore special livelihood intervention package to boost rural economy by improving livelihoods. The package, which will be implemented between June 2020 and March 2021, was approved at a meeting of the State Council of Ministers chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Sixty-three more COVID-19 positive cases were detected in the State on Friday taking the total to 1,723. Mr. Tripathy said all eligible Odia migrant workers returning to the State will be covered under the State government’s food security scheme. While the Dhamra project will create employment opportunity for 20,000 people, 16,000 people will get jobs at Dhenkanal, Mr. Tripathy said.

Source: The Hindu May 29, 2020 15:10 UTC