Bhubaneswar: The State Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi today decided to amend the Odisha Universities Act, 1989 that aimed to address critical challenges faced by universities.
The proposed amendment bill to be placed in the Assembly during the winter session, said Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja.
The amendment will help enhance the overall academic excellence, governance and administrative efficiency of the public universities, he said.
Key aspects of the amendment focus on improving the recruitment process, empowering universities with more autonomy allowing them to make decisions independently while maintaining accountability and involving academic professionals in crucial decision-making processes, reintroduction of Senate, formation of building and works committee, finance committee and others.
“By amending the Act, the State government aims to streamline the recruitment process and eliminate the stagnation caused in the recruitment of teachers by court cases,” the Chief Secretary said, adding that the changes are designed to create a more transparent and time-bound procedure for appointments, ensuring that vacancies are filled promptly.
This amendment has also incorporated the NEP (National Education Policy) transformative aspects – such as the emphasis on multi-disciplinary education, skill development, and enhanced access through distance learning, skill development for employability.
Shri Ahuja said the Cabinet has approved the amendment of two sections of the IPR 2015 in order to enable eligible investors to furnish their claim for incentives in time for which they are entitled to and to make the IPR in line with sectoral policies for smooth administration of incentives.
He said in many cases, it is noticed that delay in submission of claim application by industrial units happens due to their ignorance about various incentives and certifications which they are entitled to under the policy and procedures to claim these incentives as well as related certifications and timelines to apply within.
Also considering the dislocations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the approval is now given to enhance the timeline for submission of applications from one year to two years for all types of incentives and certifications under Industrial Policy Resolution 2015, the CS said.
For delay beyond two years, there is provision for delay condonation to be considered at the level of Chief Secretary.
Further, as a one-time relaxation measure, investors who had already commenced commercial production but failed to file their application in time for incentives or certifications within the due date, but submitted within June 30, 2023 will be considered.
It said that the belated applications submitted after June 30,2023 will not be considered except where it is a fit case to be considered at the level of Chief Secretary for condonation of delay happening due to reasons beyond the control of industrial unit.
Ahuja said that an amendment was made in Odisha Food Processing Policy 2016 (OFPP 2016) on November, 13, 2018, wherein Oil expeller, Solvent extraction & Refining of Oil and Packaged drinking water with moderate investment in plant and machinery were removed from the negative list of activity and became eligible for incentives under the policy. But a similar provision was made in IPR 2015 in 2020, he said.
In view of the above discrepancy in IPR and sectoral policy, the amendment made in IPR 2015 on 18.08.2020 shall be effective retrospectively from the date of amendment made in OFPP (Odisha food processing policy) 2016″, he added.