Bhubaneswar: Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida on Tuesday inaugurated the five-year plan “Ame Padhiba Aama Bhasare” at the Convention Hall, Lok Seva Bhawan, along with several other initiatives under the Department of Women and Child Development. The event also included a program for signing consent forms for key schemes.
Addressing the gathering, Parida said, “Women’s empowerment is central to a developed Odisha. Ensuring a safe, equal, and respectful environment for women and children remains a priority for the state government.”
She emphasised the importance of coordination among departments, community participation, and effective implementation at the grassroots level in areas such as mother-tongue-based early education, child marriage prevention, adolescent health, and social protection.
The “Ame Padhiba Aama Bhasare” scheme, aligned with the National Education Policy–2020, will provide early education in the mother tongue to children aged 3–6 years. In its first phase, the program will be implemented in six districts—Keonjhar, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, and Malkangiri—in languages including Munda, Kui, Sora, Kuvi, Gondi, and Koya. Anganwadi workers will receive language-specific training, teaching materials, and audio-visual content to enhance learning outcomes. Parida urged efforts to make the scheme known in every household and said it would also make Anganwadis more attractive to children.
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