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42 Years to Apply, 20 Lakh Jobs in 5 Years : CM Majhi’s Big Youth Promise
Bhubaneswar: In a major Independence Day announcement aimed at giving Odisha’s students and young job aspirants a bigger push towards education and employment, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi unveiled a series of youth-focused measures from Gandhi Marg, promising wider access to education, more opportunities in government recruitment and a massive employment drive across the state. Under the education push, the government announced free education from KG to PG, along with free textbooks for students of Classes IX and X, while plans are also in place to establish 2,200 Godabarish Mishra Adarsha Primary Schools to strengthen foundational education across Odisha.
The higher-education sector is set for further expansion with 18 new government colleges and four new universities proposed in remote and underserved districts, potentially bringing higher education closer to thousands of students. For government job aspirants, the announcement brought another major relief, with the upper age limit for government jobs increased from 32 to 42 years, giving older candidates an extended opportunity to compete. In another significant recruitment reform, the government announced the removal of the six-attempt restriction in the Odisha Civil Services examination, allowing eligible candidates to appear for the examination until they reach the applicable maximum age limit. Employment was another major focus, with the government setting an ambitious target of creating at least three lakh new employment opportunities within the next one to two years and 20 lakh opportunities over five years. At the same time, the Chief Minister stressed that recruitment examinations must remain transparent and warned that corruption, malpractice and irregularities would not be tolerated, with strict action promised against those involved.
Together, the announcements represent a broad roadmap covering classrooms, campuses, competitive examinations and employment, offering a fresh ray of hope to Odisha’s youth on Independence Day. Now, all eyes will be on the government to see how quickly these ambitious promises are translated into concrete opportunities on the ground. From free education to more chances in competitive exams and a massive employment target, CM Majhi’s Independence Day message has placed Odisha’s youth firmly at the centre of the state’s development agenda.
