Vice President of India C P Radhakrishnan is scheduled to visit Odisha on a two-day tour and participate in an orientation programme for state legislators on November 16. During the programme, he will guide and train MLAs on various aspects of legislative functioning, parliamentary procedures and capacity building.
This will be the Vice President’s second visit to the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
The one-day orientation programme will feature three sessions, including an inaugural session and two technical sessions. The first session will be attended by the Vice President, the Governor and the Chief Minister. The entire programme will be conducted under the chairmanship of the Odisha Assembly Speaker.
The two technical sessions will focus on strengthening the knowledge and skills of legislators on important aspects of legislative functioning.
One session will cover the functioning of various Assembly committees, their responsibilities and their role in legislative oversight. The committee system is followed in both Kerala and Odisha, and the training will focus on improving the effectiveness of these committees.
Another technical session will focus on budget-related matters, including expenditure, ratios and estimates. Legislators will also receive guidance on how the state budget should be presented and how elected representatives can effectively participate in budget discussions.
The training programme aims to strengthen the capacity of MLAs to understand legislative procedures, monitor government programmes and ensure effective implementation of policies.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling shared details of the proposed programme and emphasised the importance of strengthening the committee system in the Assembly.
He said that capacity building among legislators was essential to make the committee system more effective. Stronger committees would help improve implementation and monitoring mechanisms.
“The Assembly has a committee system. To strengthen it, members need to enhance their capabilities. This will make the implementation and monitoring mechanisms more robust. That is the main objective of the training programme,” Mahaling said.
The initiative is expected to improve the functioning of the Odisha Legislative Assembly by equipping legislators with a better understanding of budgetary procedures, committee responsibilities and legislative oversight.