Finance
The Odisha Government’s Department of Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID) to improve early detection, education, capacity building, and community awareness for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (PwIDs) throughout the state.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Bhubaneswar with the goal of establishing a structured relationship for applying NIEPID-developed curricular frameworks in special schools funded by the SSEPD Department. The partnership’s goal is to improve the quality of educational and developmental services for children with intellectual impairments through expert support, training, and ongoing monitoring.
To promote inclusion and eliminate stigma, both institutions will collaborate on early detection and intervention, capacity building for special educators, caregivers, and frontline workers, curriculum implementation, research, documentation, and community awareness under the terms of the MoU. As part of the collaboration, training programs, resource material development, digital learning content creation, and expert monitoring will be implemented. It is also planned to do collaborative research and publish best practices and policy briefs.
A Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) will be formed with representatives from SSEPD and NIEPID to review progress, monitor outcomes, and lead implementation. The MoU will be valid for three years, from January 16, 2026 to January 15, 2029, and may be extended by mutual permission.
This strategic relationship is a crucial step in strengthening inclusive education and empowerment efforts for people with intellectual disabilities in Odisha, and it aligns with the State Government’s commitment to social inclusion and equitable development. At the time of signing of the MoU, Bhaskar Raito, Additional Secretary to Government, and Deputy Secretaries Sannyasi Kumar Behera and Basanta Kumar Behera from the Department of Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of Odisha & Dr. Ganesh Shergar, representative of NIEPID were present.
