There is a defining quality that separates great leaders from the good, average and bad ones. The great ones, deep inside, are never really satisfied with the work they do \u2013 no matter how good that might be. They seem to be perennially chasing perfection in their goals, just like great artists do with their works of art, and that pursuit of excellence manifests in some wonderful way or the other.<\/p>\n
A few days ago, in view of the ruinous impact that the coronavirus pandemic had on the livelihoods of people across Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced his decision to waive the examination fees for all of the 6,00,000-plus students scheduled to take the annual state board exams from May 3 onwards this year. Costing the state exchequer Rs 27 crore, this move came as an added relief for the students after the BJD government had announced a 30% reduction in school syllabus in August last year.<\/p>\n
But Patnaik, ever concerned about the welfare of students and youth of Odisha, wanted to do more. That became evident yesterday when the state\u2019s School and Mass Education Minister, Samir Ranjan Dash, declared the government\u2019s decision to distribute \u2018Pariksha Darpan\u2019 \u2013 a 700-page guidebook, complete with a comprehensive question-and-answer bank \u2013 among all matriculation students free of cost to help them prepare better for the first big exam of their lives.<\/p>\n
While stating that the decision was part of an ongoing effort to compensate for the inconvenience that Covid-19 had caused students through months-long cancellation of physical classes, Dash also revealed that it was a consequence of the Chief Minister\u2019s directives to the education department to take steps towards alleviating \u201cthe stress of students\u201d.<\/p>\n
Patnaik\u2019s quest for constant improvement in governance has been equally conspicuous in the tourism sector.<\/p>\n
His government had dedicated nearly 60 crores to eco-tourism for the 2016-21 period and allocated an impressive 190 crore for tourism development in the 2019-20 budget. However, in for the next financial year \u2013 after the state had suffered the devastating Cyclone Fani \u2013 the allocation was more than doubled, to a whopping Rs 400 crore, in a bid to give a much-needed second wind to the hard-hit tourism industry.<\/p>\n
And now, while still fighting a global pandemic that led to a prolonged lockdown and multiple shutdowns, affected over 330,000 people and claimed over 1900 lives in Odisha so far, the Naveen Patnaik government has been busy laying the groundwork to make the state the top tourism destination in India, rivalling Rajasthan and Kerala.<\/p>\n