NEW DELHI: The Oversight Committee — monitoring implementation of 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Central educational institutions — will submit its interim report to the Government in the first fortnight of July. At Thursday's fourth meeting here, the committee finalised the theme paper for a national colloquium being planned to elicit expert views on the implementation of the new policy. Answers will be sought for questions on the infrastructure demands of the central institutions and how best standards can be maintained so that quality is not diluted by the increase in intake.

Onerous task

Admitting that the task ahead was onerous, Chairman Veerappa Moily told reporters that innovative ways would be evolved to turn the contentious issue of reservation into a win-win situation for all. "Our endeavour will be to maintain the brand equity of all premier Central educational institutions."

Reacting to reports in a section of the press that OBC reservation would be introduced only in the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi in 2007-2008, he said the new policy would roll out in one go in all Central institutions from the next academic year.

The committee would provide inputs for the OBC reservation Bill. The interim report was timed to incorporate some of the suggestions of the committee in the draft legislation before the Bill was tabled in Parliament in the monsoon session.

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