Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday announced free textbooks for students of classes IX and X and scrapped the six-attempt limit for Odisha Civil Services (OCS) examination, underscoring his govt’s focus on education and employment during the Independence Day celebrations in the state capital.Addressing the gathering at Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Majhi said free textbooks, currently provided up to Class VIII, will now be extended to students of classes IX and X.In a major relief for govt job aspirants, the chief minister also announced that candidates will be allowed to appear for the OCS examination until they attain the maximum eligible age, with no restriction on the number of attempts. The state govt had earlier raised the upper age limit for govt recruitment examinations from 32 years to 42.“We all know govt jobs are limited and competition is intense. To provide aspirants more opportunities, the six-attempt ceiling for the Odisha Civil Service Examination is being removed,” Majhi said.Highlighting the state’s employment roadmap, Majhi said Odisha is expected to generate at least 3 lakh jobs in the next one to two years and around 20 lakh jobs over the next five years. To equip young people for these opportunities, the govt is expanding skill development initiatives in partnership with industry and global institutions.He said the World Skill Centre, established in collaboration with Singapore, will be expanded with three additional branches. The state is also modernising Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), setting up centres of excellence in 25 ITIs and AI laboratories in 13 ITIs.Majhi said Odisha emerged as the national champion at IndiaSkills 2025-26, with participants from the state winning 57 medals across various categories.Listing the govt’s achievements in the education sector, Majhi said Odisha has made education free from “KG to PG” in govt and govt-aided institutions. He announced that 2,200 Godabarish Mishra Adarsha Prathamika Vidyalayas (model primary schools) will be built in the first phase and said 26,000 teachers have been recruited in the last two years, while the process to recruit another 45,000 is underway.On healthcare, Majhi highlighted the implementation of Ayushman Bharat and Gopabandhu Jan Arogya Yojana, which together provide health coverage to around 3.7 crore people. He said medical colleges will be set up in Jajpur, Talcher and Kandhamal, apart from four new medical colleges and seven nursing colleges planned across the state.Emphasising his govt’s welfare measures, Majhi said work is on to improve the incomes of farmers through enhanced paddy procurement at Rs 3,100 per quintal, PM-Kisan and CM-Kisan assistance, and schemes for livestock rearers and fishermen.Pitching his govt’s governance record, the CM said over 15,000 grievances had been heard through 18 rounds of public grievance hearings, with 96% of cases resolved. Reiterating a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, he warned officials against irregularities and said stringent action would be taken against corruption and examination malpractice.
