The Odisha Cabinet has approved an 11.25% reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) students in medical and technical courses, while enhancing quotas for Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) students.
The decision, taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, will apply across state universities and their affiliated institutions offering professional courses.
Under the new policy, ST reservation will be increased to 22.50% from 12%, while SC reservation will rise to 16.25% from 8% in medical, engineering, and other technical education streams.
The government said the newly introduced 11.25% quota for SEBC students will be implemented in technical and medical education institutions across the state.
The move is aimed at bringing Odisha's reservation policy closer to national practices and addressing demands from backward class groups for extended reservation benefits in professional education.
The revised reservation framework will cover courses in engineering, technology, management, computer applications, medicine, surgery, dental sciences, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary science, Ayurveda, homeopathy, and agriculture, among others.
Of the 2,421 undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats in Odisha, 545 seats will be reserved for ST students, 393 for SC students, and 272 for SEBC students under the new system.
The Cabinet decision is expected to take effect in the upcoming academic admissions cycle, though detailed implementation guidelines are likely to be issued separately by the concerned departments.
