Bhubaneswar: In a significant move, the Odisha government has notified revised reservation quotas for admissions to professional educational institutions across the state. The new reservation structure will come into force from the 2026-27 academic session and will apply to a wide range of professional courses, including engineering, medicine, management, nursing, pharmacy, agriculture, veterinary sciences, architecture, polytechnics and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
According to an order issued by the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Development Department, the revised reservation policy has been formulated following recommendations made by the policy planning body under the Odisha Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fee) Act, 2007.
Under the new framework, reservation for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students has been increased substantially from 12 per cent to 22.50 per cent, while the quota for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates has been raised from 8 per cent to 16.25 per cent. In addition, the state government has introduced a new 11.25 per cent reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) students.
The revised quota structure has been designed while keeping the overall reservation limit within the 50 per cent ceiling.
The government has clarified that the revised reservation percentages will be implemented uniformly across all professional educational institutions operating under various state government departments. However, seats allotted under the All India Quota will remain outside the ambit of the state reservation policy.
At the same time, existing provisions for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen, and other categories covered under horizontal reservations will continue as per current rules and regulations.
