Bhubaneswar: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for the establishment of 85 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) across the country.

Altogether eight new KVs will be opened in Odisha, said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The Centre will set up 85 new KVs across the country, including eight in Odisha, with an expenditure of Rs 5,872 crore, revealed Pradhan.

The new KVs will come up at Titlagarh and Patnagarh in Balangir, Khurda, Athmallik and Talcher in Angul, Kuchinda in Sambalpur, Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal and Jeypore in Koraput, said Pradhan.

The Union Education Minister thanked the Prime Minister for sanctioning eight new KVs for Odisha.

Till date, as many as 1,256 KVs, including three in Moscow, Kathmandu and Tehran, have been made functional. Around 13.50 lakh students are studying in these KVs.

The CCEA has also approved a proposal to set up 28 new Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country. The Centre will spend Rs 2,359 crore for this purpose, said the Union Education Minister.

Notably, the Union Government had approved the scheme of Kendriya Vidyalayas in November 1962 to provide educational facilities of uniform standard throughout the country for the children of transferable Central government/Defence employees.

Consequently, the Central Schools Organization was started as a unit of the Ministry of Education. Initially, 20 Regimental Schools in Defence Stations were taken over as Central Schools during the Academic Year 1963-64.

Kendriya Vidyalayas are primarily opened to cater to the educational needs of children of transferable and non-transferable employees of Central government including defence and paramilitary forces and for kids of floating population and others including those living in remote and undeveloped regions in the country.