Bhubaneswar: The class 12 final examinations of the Odisha board began on Wednesday amid heavy security, officials said.

A total of 4.01 lakh students are appearing for the exams being conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha, across 1,364 centres, they said.

The exams began with Science papers, while those for the Arts and Commerce streams will start on Friday. The exam will continue till March 28, they added.

A total of 2.56 lakh students are enrolled in the Arts stream, 1.14 lakh in Science, and 24,621 in Commerce, CHSE's Controller of Examinations Prasanta Kumar Parida said.

There are also 5,932 students of vocational studies, he said.

The exam began at 10 am and will end at 1 pm, he added Parida said live streaming of all examination centres has been made available, while 211 question paper hubs are being monitored with "AI technology".

Special squads have been deployed to conduct surprise inspections to check any malpractices, he added.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi extended greetings to all the students appearing for the examination.

"The examination is a beautiful reflection of your knowledge and hard work. There is no need to put any fear or stress in your mind for it. Remember, your performance will be of high quality only if you appear for the examination not under pressure, but with patience," he posted on X.

The practical examinations were conducted between January 2 and 15.