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Institutions to follow Central list of OBCs

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI:Despite some Ministers’ demands for a review petition on exclusion of the creamy layer, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on Sunday asked all central educational institutions (CEIs) to implement the OBC quota from the coming academic session.

The Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment (MSJE) has asked the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) to examine the feasibility of revisiting its decision taken in 2004 on income criteria for the creamy layer.

The Commission was entrusted with this task on December 31, 2007, and is expected to submit its report by June.

In determining who is an OBC, the HRD Ministry has asked the CEIs to adopt the central List of OBCs prepared by the MSJE in consultation with the NCBC for reservation in jobs. Similarly, an Office Memorandum – issued by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension on September 8, 1993, and amended on March 9, 2004 – will provide the yardstick for defining the creamy layer for now.

The directive sets at rest the confusion on whether the court order confined the OBC reservation to graduate programmes. As per the directive – issued as an Office Memorandum – it will be applicable to all programmes of study except at high levels of specialisation.

Every institution can plan its own roll-out schedule – provided 27 per cent reservation for the OBCs is in place within three years and there is no reduction in the share of seats available to the general category.

Each institution has been given the freedom to fix the eligibility criteria for OBC reservation.

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