Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister for Indian Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi on Saturday asserted that the United Progressive Alliance(UPA) Government would stand by its commitment to the 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in IITs and IIMs and would take the appropriate steps within the purview of the law to overcome the recent Supreme Court stay.

Addressing presspersons, Mr. Ravi said the Prime Minister himself had announced soon after the decision on the reservation that the Centre would come up with a compromise formula to make good the seats lost owing to the reservation envisaging an investment of Rs.1,300 crore.

On the Supreme Court observation that reservation would lead to a division in the community, Mr. Ravi said: "I respectfully disagree with the observation of the court." Reservation would in fact lead to cohesion in society.

Mr. Ravi said India would sign an agreement with Kuwait on April 8 on labour contract that would go a long way in protecting the interests of Indian labour force. After his Kuwait mission, Mr. Ravi would visit Doha and Saudi Arabia for discussions on the labour contract.

In the case of Bahrain, discussions were going on, while the draft agreement had been sent to the Sultanate of Oman and talks were scheduled in May.

Mr. Ravi termed the agreement as a landmark because it would ensure that the labour contract listed out the terms and conditions of service of employees. Salary would be paid through the bank, and the employee would enjoy medical insurance coverage provided by the sponsor. NRI university

Mr. Ravi said the proposed NRI university would have a deemed university status under the University Grants Commission.

An evaluation committee drawn from eight ministries would examine the proposals, including the site for the university.

Several State Governments had expressed interest in collaborating in setting up the varsity.

The States could provide the necessary infrastructure, but the investments would be mainly by NRIs and People of Indian Origin.

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