Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday announced a significant enhancement of reservations for Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes students in professional education courses across the state, effective from the 2026-27 academic session. Posting on X, Majhi framed the move as a long-pending corrective measure rooted in the principles of 'Antyodaya' and 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'.

Context

In his post, Majhi said that 'from the 2026-27 academic session, rightful reservations in Engineering, Medical and other professional courses are decisively enhanced'. He specified that ST reservation has been raised to 22.5%, SC reservation to 16.25%, and a 11.25% reservation for SEBC students has been introduced 'for the very first time' in professional courses in Odisha.

The Chief Minister described the decision as 'an act of providing justice long overdue', arguing that for '79 years after Independence, meritorious students from ST, SC and SEBC communities were systematically denied their rightful place in professional education'. He credited the change to the mandate his government received two years ago.

Policy backdrop

Reservations in higher education for SEBC categories at the state level are enabled by the Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act, 2005, which empowered states to provide quotas for socially and educationally backward classes in educational institutions, including unaided private ones. Several states have since calibrated their professional-course quotas within the broader judicial framework on total reservation limits.

Majhi's Bharatiya Janata Party formed government in Odisha in June 2024, marking the party's first stint in power in the state after a long phase of regional party rule. The reservation revision is among the more consequential social-policy announcements of his tenure so far, and aligns with a broader pattern of BJP-ruled states recalibrating reserved-category percentages in higher and professional education.

Stakeholders and impact

The primary beneficiaries are ST, SC and SEBC aspirants seeking admission to engineering, medical and allied professional courses in Odisha's government and aided institutions. Odisha has a substantial tribal population, and ST representation in professional education has long been a focal demand of community groups and student bodies.

The newly introduced 11.25% SEBC quota in professional courses is the most novel element, opening a fresh category-level entitlement that did not previously exist in this segment in the state. Existing general-category aspirants may see a reshuffled seat matrix, the contours of which will depend on the final notification.

Majhi cast the move in aspirational terms, saying his government wants 'every deserving student in Odisha' to 'dream without limits, achieve without barriers, and rise to build a Samruddha Odisha (Prosperous Odisha) and a Viksit Bharat (Developed India)'.

What's next

The state government is expected to issue a formal notification detailing the revised seat matrix, eligibility rules and admission procedures ahead of the 2026-27 counselling cycle. Universities, technical education authorities and medical admission bodies will need to operationalise the new percentages in their seat allocation software and brochures.

The announcement could also draw legal scrutiny, particularly around how the cumulative reservation percentage interacts with judicially recognised ceilings on total quotas. How the policy is drafted, defended and rolled out over the coming months will determine whether it stands as a durable structural reform or becomes a contested test case for state-level quota expansion.