OBC Reservation

OBC Reservation

News: People from five OBC communities continued to block the Jaipur-Agra Highway at Aroda village in Rajasthan Bharatpur district, demanding a separate 12% quota in jobs and higher education institutions.

More About OBC Reservation:
• The Kalelkar Commission, set up in 1953, was the first to identify backward classes other than the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) at the national level.
• The Mandal Commission Report, 1980 estimated the OBC population at 52% and classified 1,257 communities as backward.
• It recommended increasing the existing quotas, which were only for SC/ST, from 22.5% to 49.5% to include the OBCs.
• The central government reserved 27% of seats in union civil posts and services for OBCs [Article 16(4)].
• The quotas were subsequently enforced in central government educational institutions [Article 15 (4)].
• In 2008, the Supreme Court directed the central government to exclude the creamy layer (advanced sections) among the OBC.
• The 102nd Constitution Amendment Act, 2018 provided constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), which was previously a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. NCBC has the authority to examine complaints and welfare measures regarding socially and educationally backward classes.

What is Article 340 of the Indian Constitution?
• The President may by order appoint a Commission consisting of such persons as he thinks fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which they labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the Union or any State to remove such difficulties.
• A Commission so appointed shall investigate the matters referred to them and present to the President a report setting out the facts as found by them and making such recommendations as they think proper.
• The President shall cause a copy of the report so presented together with a memorandum explaining the action taken thereon to be laid before each House of Parliament.