Bhubaneswar, Sept. 1 -- In a major relief for meritorious students from economically weaker Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has directed that poor SC and ST students will not be required to deposit tuition and other fees at the time of admission to government medical and engineering colleges, or for six months thereafter, according to an official statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Under the new arrangement, eligible students will be able to pay their admission and tuition fees conveniently after receiving their scholarship funds from the Central and State Governments.

According to the CMO release, meritorious SC and ST students from economically weaker se...