The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to set up a commission to examine sub-categorising Other Backward Classes. The panel has to submit its report within 12 weeks once a chairperson is appointed, The Indian Express reported.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the president will be asked to constitute this panel under Article 340 of the Indian Constitution. He believes that this move will ensure fair and just distribution of reservations in government jobs and educational institutes.
Under this provision of the Constitution, the president has the authority to appoint a committee to examine the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes and the troubles they face and then recommend measures to improve their condition.
The commission will be given the task of looking into the extent of unequal distribution of reservation benefits among castes and communities included in the broader Other Backward Classes category. It will then have to work out parameters to sub-categorise and also classify them into sub-categories.
Currently, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Karnataka, Haryana, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir have sub-categorised OBCs.
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