Odisha state government will provide financial assistance to more than 41 lakh farmers, including landless laborers, at the rate of INR 2,000 per person. This initiative began on the occasion of the Nuakhai festival, which is celebrated in Western Odisha and South Chhattisgarh to welcome the new rice crop. "Nua" means new, and "khai" means food. The Odisha government will provide this assistance under the Kalia Yojana (Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation) scheme, for which the government will incur an expenditure of INR 869 crore. Under the income support program, farmers receive INR 4,000 from the state government in two installments.
Mr. Prem Chandra Choudhary, the Director of Agriculture and Food Production, stated that farmers would receive a direct benefit of INR 2,000 in their bank accounts. This means the money will be transferred directly to their accounts. Farmers eligible for the Kalia scheme will receive annual cash support of INR 4,000 in two installments. They receive INR 2,000 for the Rabi crop season and an additional INR 2,000 for the Kharif crop season. While this support will be provided to over 41 lakh farmers, the majority of beneficiaries are small and medium-sized farmers. Mr. Choudhary also mentioned that some landless laborers engaged in agriculture would benefit from the Kalia scheme. He emphasized that the Kalia Yojana is a completely transparent scheme because payments are made only to those accounts with validated eligibility through seeding, reducing the possibility of any discrepancies.
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