Centre for Youth and Social Development Celebrates 43rd Foundation Day

• Civil society, people and the government must work together for effective service delivery
• Digital tools should be utilized to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of government services.
• The Odisha Public Services Act guarantees timely and transparent service delivery.
• Public services must be strengthened to effectively reach hard-to-access areas.

 Bhubaneswar, March 24, 2025:Until our citizens unite, the dream of the Viksit (developed) Odisha cannot be achieved. “It is high time, the government, civil society, and the people worked together to build a VikshitOdisha,” said Chief Secretary ShriManojAhuja.

Addressing the audience on the 43rd Foundation Day of the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD) here on Monday, Chief Secretary ShriAhuja emphasized the need for efficient public service delivery, underlining that delays at Common Service Centers (CSCs), a key part of the Digital India initiative, must be addressed. He advocated for the introduction of a social audit system and highlighted the Odisha Right to Public Services (ORTPS) Act, which has provisions to penalize service delays. Encouraging a people-friendly governance system, he urged officials to treat people with respect and ensure that public services are easily accessible.

ShriAhuja lauded CYSD’s efforts in ensuring that government schemes and initiatives reach the most marginalized communities. He acknowledged that CYSD, along with community participation, has played a key role in materializing several government programs. He also released the report of the “OdishaVikash Conclave (OVC)”, a multi-stakeholder platform uniting civil society, academia, corporates, and communities to drive inclusive development and policy advocacy in Odisha.

R.S. Gopalan, Commisioner-cum-Secretary, Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department stated, “We must look at the problems from a people’s perspective and make systems easier for them.”

ShriJagadananda, co-founder of CYSD, provided an overview of the organisation’s 43-year journey and highlighted its pioneering role in Right to Information (RTI) advocacy; social audits for transparency; tribal empowerment and development; and youth engagement in electoral awareness.

CYSD’s Programme Director, BasantNayak, outlined the organisation’s grassroots impact across 235 Gram Panchayats in 12 districts – providing livelihood support to 1.4 lakh farmers; nurturing 1,300 young community leaders; supporting 3,000 grassroots organisations; and connecting 36,000 people with entitlements under various schemes.

Grassroots leaders—HemalataTandi from Kesinga in Kalahandi district, AbhiDalari and BhagabatiMajhi from Boipariguda in Koraput district, and KailashSikka from Rayagada district—shared the challenges they face in accessing government services for their communities and what they learned from CYSD to address them.

During the event, several grassroots leaders and organizations were honoured. MuduligudaLabour Solidarity Group and Sabujima Producer Company of Boipariguda, Koraput, were felicitated for achieving zero migration and empowering women through millet value addition, respectively. The MaaPatakhanda Producer Group of Dasmantpur, Koraput, was recognised for pioneering organic strawberry farming, while the Saharapada Farmer Producer Company of Keonjhar was acknowledged for producing nursery saplings and millet processing.

Also, HemalataTandi of Kesinga, Kalahandi, was awarded for revitalizing the MaaJagadamba SHG; Surya Narayan Jhigidi of Khairput, Malkangiri and Ms. Anita Kusumulia of Saharapada, Keonjhar, for championing women’s empowerment; DanumatiMuduli of Dasmantpur, Koraput, for promoting sustainable water conservation; and MugriMiniyaka of Laxmipur, Koraput, for establishing profitable integrated farming.

Around 300 government officials, members of civil society, academia, students, and community members attended the event.

ShriPrafulla Kumar Sahu, Founder, CYSD,  PadmashreeTulsiMunda and Founder of Gram Vikas, Joe Madiath were present on the occasion and shared their experiences in  social work, encouraged the volunteers and workers.