In a historic move, the Odisha government on Saturday approved a substantial increase in reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students, while simultaneously introducing a new quota for the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) in medical and technical education.
The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting in Bhubaneswar, presided over by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Speaking to reporters, Majhi said, “While the quota for the ST students is raised from 12 per cent to 22.50 per cent, it has been enhanced from 8 per cent to 16.25 per cent for SCs. The state government has introduced an 11.25 per cent quota for OBC students, who are known as SEBC in Odisha.”
The Chief Minister said that the new reservation framework will apply to all universities, affiliated colleges, ITIs, and polytechnics in the state. It covers a vast array of disciplines, including engineering, medicine, management, nursing, pharmacy, agriculture, architecture, and cinematic arts.
ମାନ୍ୟବର ମୁଖ୍ୟମନ୍ତ୍ରୀ ଶ୍ରୀ @MohanMOdisha ଙ୍କ ଅଧ୍ୟକ୍ଷତାରେ ଅନୁଷ୍ଠିତ ରାଜ୍ୟ କ୍ୟାବିନେଟ ବୈଠକରେ ବିଭିନ୍ନ ବିଭାଗର ଗୁରୁତ୍ୱପୂର୍ଣ୍ଣ ପ୍ରସ୍ତାବକୁ ଅନୁମୋଦନ ମିଳିଛି। pic.twitter.com/MzLwCiwjoy
— CMO Odisha (@CMO_Odisha) April 4, 2026
According to a document from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the new reservation system will govern admissions for certificates, diplomas, and both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across all courses notified by the state from time to time.
Majhi highlighted that although the ST population exceeds 22% in Odisha, their educational reservation had remained stagnant at 12% for years. “We have now aligned the reservation with their actual population proportion,” the Chief Minister noted.
He clarified that of the state’s total 2,421 undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats, ST students could secure only 290 seats, based on the 12 per cent quota. However, after raising their quota to 22.5 per cent, 545 ST students will now be able to secure medical seats.
Similarly, despite making up over 17% of the population, SC students previously held only an 8% quota. Their seat count in medical courses is expected to rise from 193 to 393 under the new 16.25% allocation.
Of the total 44,579 engineering seats in the state, the number for 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 seats will be reserved for SEBC students. Earlier, the number of reserved seats for SEBC students was zero, Majhi said.
“This step of ours will be a strong means towards building a prosperous Odisha,” he said.
In another significant welfare move, the Chief Minister announced the ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’ for the 2026-27 financial year, a scheme designed to provide beneficiaries with an additional 5 kg of rice per month at no cost.
“The state government has decided to distribute the additional rice quota to the beneficiaries under the ‘National Food Security Act’ (NFSA) and ‘State Food Security Scheme’ (SFSS) through a new scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana’ for the financial year 2026-27,” he said.
This expansion will benefit over 3.22 crore individuals from 97.97 lakh families under the NFSA, as well as 5.62 lakh individuals from 2.98 lakh families under the SFSS. All existing beneficiaries are set to receive these additional benefits.
The cabinet also approved 14 other proposals of different departments.
