Background
Odisha is endowed with vast natural resources, rich cultural heritage and greater political stability. A host of programmes and schemes have been implemented in recent past to address the issues of the poor and vulnerable communities in the state. The state has witnessed economic growth rate of more than 6% in last few years. However, 32.6% of the population in Odisha still lives below poverty line. The social class and region wise estimates of poverty head count ratio indicate the severe imbalance that exists between social classes and regions. About 63.52% Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 41.39% Scheduled Caste (SC) people in rural Odisha still live below poverty line. The steady economic growth has so far not been able to bring the desired transformation in the society at large. Odisha continues to lag in major economic and human development indicators.
