Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India]: With a rising growth rate in education, health, industry and infrastructure under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Odisha is now on its path towards the expeditious achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)-2030. A project monitoring unit (PMU) with thematic and policy experts has been shaped for the purpose. A contract was signed between the Department of Planning and Convergence ( P & C) and Ernst and Young ( E & Y) today at Lokseva Bhawan in the presence of Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Development Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena and Principal Secretaries of various departments for functionalizing the PMU at the earliest. D.K. Jena OSD and Special Secretary to Government P and C and Rohit Agrawal, Consulting Partner of E and Y signed the agreement. While complimenting the efforts of the P and C, the department is giving a concrete shape to the PMU within the least possible time, Chief Secretary Mahapatra directed all departments to “strengthen their in-house capacity and work in a focused and time-bound manner for expeditious achievement of the global agenda”. Speaking on the occasion, Development Commissioner Jena said, “The PMU will work closely with different departments in a collaborative manner to achieve the SDG Agenda 2030 on a mission mode. It would also work towards improving State’s score in Multidimensional Poverty Index”. The main task of the PMU would be to consolidate and systematize the dispersed data relating to various, schemes and programmes. It would identify the missing links and gaps against different indicators of SDG and would provide inputs to the policymakers along with the implementing agencies. A baseline report would be prepared for monitoring the progress of SDGs both at State and District levels. The baseline report would be followed by Annual Reports for identifying the thrust areas requiring more interventions. Besides, the PMU would also help in building awareness among the stakeholders through a strong SDG communication strategy and bring out a compendium of best practices in various sectors.
