Bhubaneswar, Dec. 9: The state government has made special arrangements at all block notified area council and municipality offices to facilitate OJEE aspirants get their Aadhaar cards.

The Aadhaar card has been made mandatory for students planning to appear for the JEE (Main). Registrations for the joint entrance exam have already begun from December 1.

The last date for filling the application forms is January 2, 2017, and fees can be paid till January 3, 2017. Most joint entrance examination aspirants in private schools have their Aadhaar cards, while many from rural areas are yet to get theirs.

"This came as a surprise to us. We hardly have any time to run around to get the Aadhaar card. The government's move will really help us," said Subhra Panda, a Plus Two student who will take the joint entrance examination.

Panda said many students, irrespective of whether they were appearing for the OJEE, were applying for the Aadhaar cards. The Centre has set up 240 centres in the state for Aadhaar registration. Technical education minister Sanjay Das Burma said the arrangement would benefit students, who were worried after the directive that made Aadhaar cards mandatory for the exam.

In a notification, the Central Board of Secondary Education has, however, said students, who had already registered for the Aadhaar card but were yet to get their copies, could register for the competitive examination using their Aadhaar enrolment number.