In order to promote equitable and sustainable development in six southern districts of the state, with an emphasis on livelihoods, healthcare, renewable energy, and climate-resilient development, the Odisha government and SELCO Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). Initially including Kalahandi, Rayagada, Gajapati, Koraput, Nabarangpur, and Malkangiri, the partnership aims to improve current government programs by utilizing technical know-how, creativity, capacity building, technology, and implementation assistance.
Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Drinking Water Department and Panchayati Raj, Girish S.N., and Chief Finance Officer of the SELCO Foundation, V.K. Joby, signed the Memorandum of Understanding in front of Chief Secretary Anu Garg. The cooperation will concentrate on healthcare and nutrition, clean energy, climate resilience, tribal knowledge and innovation, skill development, entrepreneurship, and sustainable livelihoods and local economic growth. Additionally, it will assist farmers, women, SHGs, FPOs, young people, craftsmen, tribal communities, people with disabilities, and rural micro-entrepreneurs by providing them with skills, productive-use technologies, financing, government programs, market connections, and value addition.
The proposed SEVA Hubs (Centers for Expertise and Enablers for Rural Transformation), which will act as locally anchored platforms for program design, convergence, capacity building, technology and finance access, implementation support, and scaling up successful initiatives, will be a crucial element. The Panchayati Raj, Health, and other pertinent departments and district administrations will work together to implement the five-year Memorandum of Understanding, with individual initiatives being established in accordance with unique needs. Harish Hande, the founder of the SELCO Foundation, and B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, the former CEO of NITI Aayog, took part in the meeting electronically.