Overview

• The Works Department’s July 30 notification requires all new and routinely renovated government buildings to use an RGB saffron blend (254,190,152) with terracotta trim.
• The immediate-effect order now extends the colour scheme to public transport buses, school facilities and will introduce saffron ID cards for primary students in the 2025–26 academic year.
• BJP officials say the uniform hue underscores Odisha’s cultural warmth and signals a break from the BJD’s green branding after 24 years, with Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati signing off on the plan.
• Implementation teams have started repainting state-operated offices, buses and school campuses in saffron across Odisha.
• Opposition leaders from the BJD and Congress label the policy as ideological posturing that diverts attention from ongoing law and order issues, educational gaps and resource allocation shortfalls.