Oram was born on 22 March 1961 into a poor tribal family at the village of Kendudihi, Sundergarh district, Orissa (present-day Odisha) to Dilga and Bhutuki Oram.[2][3] He received a diploma in Electrical Engineering from Utkalmani Gopabandhu Institute of Engineering.[3] Before entering politics, he was employed as an assistant foreman in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. In an interview to The Telegraph (Calcutta), Oram said that he would have continued his job in the organization if he had not entered politics