The Odisha Cabinet has approved the Odisha Shikshanet scheme with an outlay of Rs 393.62 crore. It will give free Wi-Fi on the campuses of more than 750 higher education institutions, among them 601 government and aided colleges and universities. Students, teachers and staff will get up to 1 GB of free data a day at 200 Mbps, usable anywhere on their campus. The stated purpose is to open up e-libraries, e-learning platforms and e-journals to them. The scheme began as a pilot in 130 institutions and is now being widened to the rest. About six lakh students are expected to gain from it. Minister Suryabanshi Suraj announced the decision after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Outlay:Rs 393.62 croreInstitutions covered:More than 750Free data a day:1 GB at 200 MbpsStudents expected to gain:About six lakh
Why it matters for exams: A named State scheme with its outlay, its coverage and the department-level purpose behind it is the classic scheme question, and Odisha's Chief Minister is a standard State Focus fact.
The Odisha Cabinet has cleared the Upper Indravati Pumped Storage Project, the state's first large project of its kind, at a cost of Rs 4,708.64 crore. The 600 MW project will come up at Mukhiguda in Kalahandi district, in four reversible units of 150 MW each, beside the existing Upper Indravati hydroelectric plant. The existing Indravati reservoir will serve as the upper reservoir, and a new lower reservoir is to be built at Ranibahal village. Odisha Hydro Power Corporation Ltd will build it, with Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd selected as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor. A pumped storage project works like a very large battery: cheap surplus power pumps water uphill at off-peak hours, and the water is let down through turbines when demand peaks. It is to be commissioned by the 2030-31 financial year and is expected to give about 1,040 million units of peak power a year. With the existing plant, Upper Indravati will then hold 1,200 MW of capacity.
Why it matters for exams: Pumped storage is the standard answer to grid storage questions, and the project's capacity, district and the state corporation building it are all durable facts.
Odisha has done away with the limit on how many times a candidate may sit the Odisha Civil Services examination. The Cabinet amended the Odisha Civil Services (Combined Competitive Recruitment Examination) Rules, 1991 for this. An eligible candidate may now appear for the examination until the upper age limit is reached. The amendment was moved by the General Administration and Public Grievance department. The Odisha Civil Services examination is the state's own combined competitive examination for its administrative services. Minister Suryabanshi Suraj announced the change after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Thirteen proposals were cleared at that meeting.
Rules amended:Odisha Civil Services (Combined Competitive Recruitment Examination) Rules, 1991Department:General Administration and Public Grievance
Why it matters for exams: The name and year of the Rules that govern a State civil services examination, and the commission that conducts it, are the sort of recruitment facts both Kerala PSC and UPSC aspirants are asked.
The Odisha Cabinet has approved the paddy procurement policy for the Kharif Marketing Season 2026-27. Farmers will be paid Rs 3,100 per quintal, a figure that takes in the Minimum Support Price and the state's own input assistance. The state will buy at least 78 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, which works out to about 53 lakh metric tonnes of rice. Payment is to reach the farmer's bank account within 24 to 48 hours of procurement. At the same meeting the Cabinet extended the tenure of about 5,000 private fair price shop dealers by one year, up to 30 September 2027. Fair price shops are the outlets through which the public distribution system reaches households. The decisions were taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Price to the farmer:Rs 3,100 per quintalPaddy to be procured:At least 78 lakh metric tonnesRice equivalent:About 53 lakh metric tonnesPayment window:24 to 48 hours
Why it matters for exams: The Minimum Support Price, who recommends it and how a State tops it up with input assistance are standard agriculture-economy questions.
The Odisha Cabinet has approved the draft Odisha Bovine Breeding (Regulation) Bill, 2026. The Bill is meant to create a regulatory framework for breeding services for cattle and buffaloes in the state. It covers scientific breeding, quality assurance and traceability of the breeding material used. Bovine means cattle and buffaloes, the animals whose breeding is controlled by such a law. Traceability matters because it lets a calf's parentage and the source of the semen used be traced on record. The Cabinet also cleared the restructuring of the Panchayat Executive Officers cadre and a set of irrigation proposals at the same meeting. The decisions were announced after the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Bill:Odisha Bovine Breeding (Regulation) Bill, 2026What it regulates:Breeding services for cattle and buffaloes
Why it matters for exams: A named State Bill and the subject it regulates is a polity-plus-agriculture fact; the meaning of 'bovine' and the idea of traceability in breeding are both askable.
A scorpion species new to science has been described from the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha and named Liocheles similipalensis, after the reserve. It is the first confirmed record of the genus Liocheles in Odisha, and the find takes the number of known species in that genus to seven. The scorpion was found in rocky habitats inside tropical moist deciduous forest at about 1,000 metres above sea level, and so far it is recorded only within the reserve. It measures 44 to 53 millimetres and is glossy bluish-black. Forest officials collected the specimens and researchers of the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation identified them. The team named in the work includes Saurabh Kininge, Tejas Thackeray and Akshay Khandekar, along with the field director of Similipal Tiger Reserve, Prakash Chand Gogineni. A new species like this is an addition to Odisha's biodiversity record.
Species:Liocheles similipalensisGenus:LiochelesSize:44 to 53 mmAltitude of the find:About 1,000 metres
Why it matters for exams: A species named after a protected area is a stock question pair: the species name and the reserve it is named for, with Similipal itself a frequent environment question.
President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the Balijatra festival at Cuttack, the Cuttack Collector, Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde, said. The fair will run on the banks of the Mahanadi river from 24 November to 1 December. The President accepted an invitation from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and will attend the inaugural ceremony in the evening. She is to reach the fairground by boat and will first open a pavilion called 'Cuttack in Cuttack', built on the theme of the ancient cultural ties between Bali and Kalinga. Bali Jatra marks the sea voyages that traders of ancient Kalinga made to Bali and other islands of Southeast Asia. This year the fair will use both the upper and the lower Balijatra grounds, with over 1,800 stalls against 1,400 last year. The district administration has banned plastic and polythene at the fair, and two cultural stages will give priority to local artistes.
Dates:24 November to 1 DecemberRiver:MahanadiCity:CuttackStalls:Over 1,800
Why it matters for exams: Bali Jatra is the festival that carries Kalinga's maritime history, held on the Mahanadi at Cuttack - a festival, a river and a historical trade link in one item.
Odisha's state-level observance of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas was held at Malkangiri, a tribal-majority district. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi launched 63 development projects worth Rs 161 crore there. He inaugurated 28 hostels built at a cost of Rs 55 crore, meant to help tribal students stay in school, and laid the foundation for 35 more projects involving Rs 106 crore for infrastructure and general development. The day marks the 151st birth anniversary of the tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda and is observed across the country as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. Majhi said a prosperous Odisha and a developed India are not possible without the empowerment of tribal people. He stressed education, employment and economic self-reliance as the route to that empowerment.
Why it matters for exams: Janjatiya Gaurav Divas and the leader whose birth anniversary it marks are a fixed pair in exams, and Malkangiri is a tribal district of Odisha worth placing on the map.
Odisha has scrapped the quota system in the Madhu Babu Pension Yojana, its own social security pension. Until now the number of pensioners was capped district by district, so a new applicant could be taken in only when an existing pensioner died or left the rolls. With the cap gone, 5,05,817 people have been added and the scheme now covers 41,80,825 beneficiaries, up from about 36.75 lakh. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced it at a state-level function at Baleshwar, saying eligible applicants had been waiting indefinitely for a vacancy. The standard monthly assistance is Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200, and a beneficiary who turns 80 gets Rs 3,500 a month without applying afresh. The annual budget provision for the scheme is Rs 625 crore, and the government has declared it fully saturated. Applications can be made through the new Unified Pension Management Portal, a Jan Seva Kendra or the Block Development Officer's office. The centrally sponsored National Social Assistance Programme runs alongside the state scheme.
Beneficiaries added:5,05,817Total beneficiaries:41,80,825Monthly assistance:Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200For beneficiaries aged 80 and above:Rs 3,500 a monthAnnual provision:Rs 625 crore
Why it matters for exams: The Madhu Babu Pension Yojana is Odisha's named social security pension and the National Social Assistance Programme is the central scheme beside it - a state-and-centre pair examiners like.