In a landmark decision, the Odisha government on Saturday (April 4, 2026) strengthened reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students and introduced Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) quota in medical and technical education.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Bhubaneswar.
“While the quota for ST students is increased from 12% to 22.50%, for SC it has been increased from 8% to 16.25%. The state government has introduced a quota of 11.25% for OBC students, known as SEBC in Odisha,” Mr. Majhi told reporters after the meeting.
He said that this new reservation system will be implemented in universities, their affiliated colleges and educational institutions, ITIs and polytechnics in the state in the fields of engineering, technology, management, computer applications, medicine, surgery, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health sciences, psychiatry, Ayurveda, homeopathy, agriculture and allied sciences, architecture, planning and film arts.
This new reservation system will also be implemented in the award of certificates, diplomas and degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in any other courses notified by the state government from time to time, said a document released by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
Mr. Majhi pointed out that though the ST population in the state is more than 22%, the reservation for them in technical, professional, medical and allied courses has been only 12% for a long time. “Therefore, we have increased it according to their share in the population,” the chief minister said.
He clarified that out of the total 2,421 government post graduate and postgraduate medical seats, ST students could secure only 290 seats based on 12% quota. However, after increasing the quota to 22.5%, 545 ST students will be able to secure medical posts.
Similarly, there are more than 17% SCs in the state but only 8% reservation for them. Earlier, only 193 SC students could get reserved category seats. Now the number of seats in the quota will increase to 393.
Of the total 44,579 engineering posts in the state, the number of STs will increase from 5,349 to 10,030. It will increase from 3,566 to 7,244 for SCs and for the first time, 515 posts will be reserved for SEBC students. Earlier, the number of seats reserved for SEBC students was zero, Mr. Majhi said.
“This step of ours will be a powerful means to build a prosperous Odisha,” he said.
In another major decision, the CM said, Odisha will introduce a new scheme – ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’ – for the financial year 2026-2027, under which additional 5 kg of rice will be provided free of cost to the beneficiaries every month.
“The state government has decided to distribute additional rice quota to beneficiaries under the ‘National Food Security Act’ (NFSA) and ‘State Food Security Scheme’ (SFSS) through the new scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’ for the financial year 2026-27,” he said.
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Currently, 3,22,89,692 members out of 97,97,572 families in the state are benefiting from the National Food Security Act, while 5,62,737 members out of 2,98,725 families are benefiting from the state food security scheme. All these beneficiaries will now get the benefits of the new regime.
The cabinet also approved 14 other proposals from various departments.
Published – 05 Apr 2026 07:17 IST
