# Odisha cabinet approves free textbooks for Class IX, X students 2026-10-13T19:11:13+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Odisha cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on Tuesday, 13 October 2026 approved a proposal to provide free textbooks to all Class IX and X students in government and government-aided schools from the current academic year. The scheme, ‘Supply of Free Textbooks’, will run for five years from 2025-26 to 2029-30 at an estimated cost of Rs 284.07 crore. Around 28.7 lakh students are expected to benefit. Free textbooks were already provided to students of Classes I to VIII and to SC/ST students of Classes IX and X. The new decision extends the benefit to all secondary class students regardless of category. The School and Mass Education Department will handle procurement, printing, transport and distribution. The government aims to ensure textbooks reach schools before each academic session begins. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Times of India and Odisha Bytes cover the cabinet decision as a straight policy announcement, leading with the approval, the five-year timeline and the Rs 284.07 crore outlay. Neither outlet adds political commentary or criticism. The only framing difference is that Odisha Bytes explicitly notes the scheme is for students ‘other than SC & ST’, reflecting the previous coverage gap, while Times of India states the benefit was previously limited to SC/ST students and is now universal. The uniform coverage suggests the decision faced no visible opposition in the cabinet. The next step is for the School and Mass Education Department to establish the beneficiary verification mechanism and ensure timely textbook supply before the next academic session. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight announcement of cabinet decision with scheme details - odishabytes.com (neutral report) Factual report on cabinet approval and scheme implementation This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Mohan Charan Majhi, Odisha Cabinet, School and Mass Education Department, Supply of Free Textbooks Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/odisha-cabinet-approves-free-textbooks-for-class-ix-x-students/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/odisha-cabinet-approves-free-textbooks-for-class-ix-x-students/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/