The Odisha government has stepped up efforts to ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential commodities in flood-affected districts while keeping a close watch on rising prices. A high-level review meeting was held on Tuesday to assess the availability of food items, distribution under welfare schemes and measures to prevent price escalation in affected areas.

The meeting was chaired by Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh at the department’s conference hall, following the directions of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Krushna Chandra Patra. Senior departmental officials, including Odisha State Civil Supplies Corporation Managing Director K. Sudarshan Chakraborty, participated in the meeting, while District Supply Officers from across the state joined through video conferencing.

During the review, officials discussed measures to maintain the supply chain of essential commodities in flood-hit regions and ensure that consumers have easy access to daily necessities. The Principal Secretary directed District Supply Officers to remain vigilant against any artificial shortage or unreasonable increase in prices.

Officials were instructed to take immediate action on complaints related to hoarding, black marketing or overpricing. The department also asked district authorities to intensify market inspections and enforcement drives wherever required to prevent traders from exploiting the flood situation.

The meeting also reviewed the lifting and distribution of food grains under the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana, National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the State Food Security Scheme (SFSS). Officials assessed the distribution of pending rice allocations for April, May and June under the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana, along with the July and August allocations under both the central and state food security schemes.

In addition, the review covered the lifting and distribution of kerosene quotas for July, August and September. District Supply Officers have been directed to ensure that all pending rice and kerosene allocations are lifted and distributed to eligible beneficiaries by August 15.

The state government reiterated that ensuring the uninterrupted availability of essential commodities and protecting consumers from price hikes remain top priorities as flood-affected districts continue to recover from the recent disaster.

A high-level secretary-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg at Kharavela Bhawan, where senior government officials reviewed the progress of various development initiatives, governance reforms and policy measures in the state.

The meeting was attended by Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Deoranajan Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary Chitra Arumugam, Additional Chief Secretary Usha Padhee, along with secretaries from different departments and the Principal Secretary of the Finance Department.

At the beginning of the meeting, Chief Secretary Anu Garg highlighted several major achievements of the state government, including the launch of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), free education from KG to PG, the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana, strengthening of nutritional support systems, increased reservation in technical and professional education, and progress in the sports, industrial and startup sectors.

The meeting focused on making governance more effective, transparent and citizen-centric through technology-based solutions and evidence-driven policymaking. Officials discussed improving departmental performance, reviewing major development programmes and ensuring better utilisation of resources through scientific research, data analysis and field-level assessments.

The government also discussed expanding collaboration with J-PAL in areas such as education, agriculture, labour, food supply, women empowerment and governance. Future cooperation in agriculture, climate change, women’s economic empowerment, migrant workers, labour markets and artificial intelligence was also reviewed.

The Finance Department presented a review of the state’s revenue and expenditure position as of June 30, 2026. Officials noted a significant increase in programme expenditure during the first quarter of the current financial year compared to last year. Departments were directed to ensure effective budget utilisation, speed up capital expenditure and complete projects within the scheduled timeline.

The Electronics and Information Technology Department presented initiatives involving AI-based Odia language voice bot technology. The system is expected to help collect citizen feedback, assess service quality and improve government schemes through direct communication with beneficiaries in Odia.

The department also highlighted the potential use of Odia Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to digitise old handwritten records and strengthen administrative processes.