Odisha Cabinet Clears ₹284 Crore Free Textbook Plan, Approves Two More Projects

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha cabinet has approved a five-year scheme worth ₹284.07 crore to provide free textbooks to around 28.7 lakh students of Classes IX and X in government and government-aided secondary schools. The initiative aims to ease the financial burden on weaker families, increase enrolment and reduce school dropouts. The School and Mass Education Department will ensure textbooks reach schools before each academic session, Chief Secretary Anu Garg said.

The cabinet also approved a ₹1,360 crore corpus fund for 2026-27 to 2029-30 to support the Odisha State Cooperative Marketing Federation (OSCMF) and Odisha State Seeds Corporation (OSSC). Of this amount, ₹960 crore is allocated to OSCMF and ₹400 crore to OSSC. The interest-free revolving funds will facilitate advance procurement of agricultural inputs, timely payments to seed growers and suppliers, and affordable, uninterrupted supplies of quality seeds and fertilisers to farmers.

Additionally, the cabinet cleared a ₹176.83 crore disaster recovery-cum-data centre at Dharanidhar University’s south campus in Keonjhar. Krystal Integrated Services Ltd will execute the project, which will provide a geographically separate backup for the Odisha State Data Centre in Bhubaneswar to maintain critical government digital services during disasters and cyberattacks. The project includes ₹154 crore in capital expenditure and ₹22.83 crore for five years of operations. Of the total cost, ₹162.83 crore will come from Fifth State Finance Commission grants, with the remainder funded through the Odisha Computer Application Centre’s maintenance budget. Completion is scheduled within nine months, followed by five years of operation and maintenance.