Odisha Cabinet Clears Landmark Social Justice & Food Security Measures
Bhubaneswar, April 2026 — The Odisha Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, approved 16 major proposals that mark a historic expansion of social justice and welfare.
The most significant decision was the overhaul of reservation policies in higher education.
Scheduled Tribe (ST) quotas were raised to 22.5%, Scheduled Caste (SC) quotas to 16.25%, and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) introduced at 11.25%.
This applies across medical, engineering, and professional courses in state universities, affiliated colleges, ITIs, and polytechnics.
In medical education, out of 2,421 seats, ST students will now have 545 seats, SC students 393, and SEBC students 272.
Engineering courses with 44,579 seats will allocate 10,030 to ST, 7,244 to SC, and 5,015 to SEBC candidates.
The Cabinet also launched the Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana (MAPY), a flagship food security scheme.
All NFSA and SFSS beneficiaries will receive an additional 5 kg of free rice per person per month. Covering 1.96 crore families (3.28 crore individuals), the scheme will distribute 19.71 lakh MT rice annually at an estimated cost of Rs 8,813 crore.
CM Majhi described the measures as correcting historical injustice in education access and strengthening food security for millions.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg highlighted that these decisions reflect the government’s commitment to inclusive development and empowerment.
