The directorate would serve as a single point of contact for the government ministries to resolve certain concerns, according to chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena.
A directorate for Odias who reside outside of Odisha and abroad will be established by the state government. At a digital Cabinet meeting on Sunday that he presided over from Kyoto, Japan, chief minister Naveen Patnaik made the decision in this regard. The department of Odia language, literature, and culture will oversee the directorate.
Through collaborations at the individual, institutional, and civil society levels, [it will] strengthen ties with Odisha residents who reside in other states and abroad, including the next generation.
The development of the Odia language, culture, and legacy, as well as tourism and sports, among other things, would be a focus of the directorate, according to Jena.
A list of Jagannath temples in various regions of India and abroad will be compiled by the directorate, which will also compile a list of organisations dedicated to promoting Odisha’s cultural legacy.
“It will promote the cultural heritage of Odisha, celebrate Odisha Diwas, and organise World Odia Conferences. It will bring out selected Odia works in other languages of India and important languages of the world,” said Jena.
He added the directorate will promote harness investment opportunities. “It will reach out to the non-resident Odias in distress and provide the necessary support.”
Prasanta Patnaik