bhubaneswar the extension of an integrated initiative for the empowerment of persons with disabilities pwds the bhima bhoi bhinnakhyama samarthya abhiyan bbsa for five more years has been approved by the expenditure finance committee efc of the state government about 32 of odishas population is made up of pwds which is the highest in the country according to a national sample survey organisation nssos 2018 report this enhanced the need for the continuance of the scheme for an extended period officials said the secretary of the social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities department had made a presentation before the efc on january 11 justifying the need to continue the scheme expand activities for the pwds and increase the estimated cost of the scheme componentwise and yearwise for a further period of five years following this the efc approved the extension of the scheme from 202122 to 202526 with an estimated cost of rs 13925 crore in the coming years the department will link the aadhar cards of the pwds with their bank accounts this will help credit financial assistance into the account of the beneficiary through direct benefit transfer under this schemethe department will also explore the possibilities of convergenceintegration of scholarships for children of the pwds pursuing higher education with the higher education department and to devise a system to monitor the issues related to the payment of scholarships to the needy children of pwdsthis apart it will examine the possibility of the convergence of the scheme components with corporate social responsibility support wherever possible a thirdparty evaluation of the scheme in the last five years will be conducted