Bhubaneswar, Feb 16 : The Odisha Cabinet on Friday approved financial assistance for the members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) and the members of various federations under Mission Shakti for the purchase of uniforms and blazers.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the state cabinet held under chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Lok Seva Bhawan here on Friday.

The cabinet has approved 12 key proposals related to 10 different departments.

The government has decided to give financial assistance to as many as 70 lakh SHG members across the state and more than 1.5 lakh Executive Committee members of Gram Panchayat Level Federations (GPLFs), Block Level Federations (BLFs) & District Level Federations (DLFs) and Management Committee (MC) members of Area Level Federations (ALFs) with a budgetary allocation of Rs 730 crore during 2023-24 financial year.

The SHG members will get Rs 1, 000 each to purchase a uniform of their choice while the executive members of the GPLFs, BLFs, DLFs and management committee members of ALFs under Mission Shakti will be provided with Rs 2,000 each for the purchase of blazers of their choice.

"This historic decision aims to preserve and promote the unique identity of SHG members and federation heads under Mission Shakti, reinforcing their role as change-makers and leaders within their communities, while also fostering an environment of professionalism in budding SMEs," said official sources.

The Cabinet has also approved the implementation of the new scheme 'NUA-O Scholarship' under which the male and female students pursuing higher studies will receive an annual scholarship of Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively.

Similarly, the students belonging to SC/ST category and the children of construction workers pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate courses will get Rs 10,000 and Rs 11,000 for male and female students, respectively.

The government aims to spend Rs 3,701.08 crore over five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28 for the scholarship.

VK Pandian, the 5T Chairman, had earlier announced the scholarship during a Nua-O, a youth empowerment programme, in Jajpur district, recently.

/IANS