Bhubaneswar: Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida Tuesday announced a hike in uniform, footwear and winter wear allowance provided to children going to anganwadi centres.
Parida said the hike will benefit over 14.76 lakh children across 74,224 anganwadi centres, with the additional costs being fully funded by the state government.
The allowances provided to the preschool children (ages 3-6) of the anganwadi centres under the Malati Devi Prak Vidyalaya Paridhan Yojana have been enhanced, she told media persons here.
The allowance for boys’ uniform has been increased from Rs 100 to Rs 175, while the aid for girls’ uniform has been hiked from Rs 150 to Rs 225, Parida said.
Similarly, the allowance provided for shoes, socks and sweater (winter wear) has also been enhanced by Rs 50 from the existing Rs 100. The revised unit costs will be effective from the current financial year 2026-27, she said.
Parida Tuesday inaugurated the ‘Panchatatwa Park’ and launched the ‘Suposhit Odisha Mission’ (SOM) here at the State Institute for Women & Children (SIWC). She also laid the foundation stone for the Subhadra Resource Centre.
She emphasised that the fight against malnutrition begins at home. The deputy CM asked officials to educate mothers at the grassroots level and empower them with the knowledge to ensure their children’s health.
She asked citizens to celebrate personal milestones like birthdays by distributing fruits to local Anganwadi children.
PTI
