The Odisha government’s reluctance to implement the Centrally-sponsored PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme has set the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) regime and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) Union government on a collision course.
Launched on September 7, 2022, the scheme aims to establish over 14,500 schools across the country and 6,207 schools have been identified in the first phase. The BJD government is yet to respond to two letters from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the past three months, urging him to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of School Education and Literacy under the Ministry for the implementation of the scheme in the State.
This is the second such instance as the BJD government has shown no inclination to implement Ayushman Bharat, a flagship Central scheme aimed at achieving universal health coverage, despite repeated letters and requests from Union Ministers.
