Bhubaneswar, Oct. 14 -- The Odisha government has approved a five-year scheme to provide free textbooks to Classes 9 and 10 students of government and government-aided secondary schools. The initiative, approved by the state Cabinet, will benefit around 28.7 lakh students over five years, with an estimated budget of Rs 284.07 crore.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. The proposal was among 16 decisions approved by the Cabinet across 11 departments.

Chief Secretary Anu Garg announced the scheme during a post-Cabinet briefing, saying students who are not already covered under existing provisions for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students will ...