Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar, May 15: A global jet-setter during his days as a socialite author when he boasted of Mick Jagger and Jacqueline Kennedy among friends, chief minister Naveen Patnaik has not made a single trip abroad since assuming office for the first time in 2000.

However, Naveen seems set to break this self-imposed restriction on foreign visits with a trip to the United Kingdom beginning on May 22, an indication, among other things, of his growing confidence as a politician and the state head.

Naveen will lead a high-power delegation to the UK, where he would interact with international development secretary Andrew Mitchel to finalise details of welfare schemes funded by the department of international development.

The department is likely to extend funding support of 25 million pounds as cash incentive for disadvantaged girls (SC & ST) entering Class VIII and completing X. This programme will cover all the 30 districts of the state during 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.

After that the state government is supposed to take up the responsibility of supporting the girls by spending around Rs 70 crore per year on them. Each girl will receive Rs 3,600 annually under the scheme with the money to be transferred to their bank or post office accounts.

The department-aided programme, currently being implemented in Rayagada district on a pilot basis, would be extended to other parts of the state under the supervision of the departments of scheduled tribe and scheduled caste and school and mass education.

Sources said Naveen would discuss details of the scheme, named Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCTP), which aims to enhance the attendance rate of the SC and ST girls in schools, when he meets the department top brass on May 25 during the course of his eight-day visit. Accompanying Naveen on the trip would be his cabinet colleagues, Usha Devi and Ramesh Majhi, apart from the secretaries of women and child and school and mass education departments.

Sources said the trip marked a watershed in the evolution of Naveen as a politician. “He is no more the shy and tentative leader he once used to be. He has undergone a complete transformation during the past 12 years going from strength to strength,” said a BJD leader.

As the preparations for the chief minister’s UK visit get the final touches, his reluctance to go abroad on similar trips in the past stands out in stark contrast. While Naveen never showed any inclination for foreign travel, he kept encouraging his ministers and officers to do so. Among his ministers, Surya Narayan Patro, who holds revenue and disaster management portfolio, has made more outings abroad than most of his other colleagues.

As for Naveen, his travel expenses even within the country have been rather modest.