CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -In a benchmark move to empower sanitation workers across the sanitation value chain, the Housing and Urban Development Department, Odisha, launched the GARIMA Scheme in 2020.

Detailed explanation-2: -GARIMA Scheme will be implemented by the state Housing and Urban Development department in all the 114 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of Odisha. Initially, the state government has allocated a corpus fund of Rs 50 crore for the scheme. The working hours of sanitation workers will be limited to 6 hours per day.

Detailed explanation-3: -Odisha Garima Scheme 2023 has been launched by the CM Naveen Patnaik led state government. In this scheme, Odisha govt. will provide benefits to around 20, 000 crore sanitation workers and their families covering 1 lakh population. This scheme will ensure safety and dignity of core sanitation workers.

Detailed explanation-4: -Namaste is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) as a joint initiative of the MoSJE and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

Detailed explanation-5: -It was in 2008 that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik first unveiled the scheme to provide Rs 2 per kg rice to around 60 lakh families in the state. Odisha was not the first, with a few southern states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu already having versions of this programme.