EWS Reservation- Rs 8 lakh annual earnings standards retained

The Central Government has submitted an affidavit in Supreme Court relating to the EWS reservation standards. It has determined to just accept the suggestions made by an skilled committee to retain the restrict of Rs 8 lakhs gross annual earnings for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and likewise omit the residential asset standards.

This transfer comes after the Supreme Court expressed doubts relating to the rationality of Rs 8 lakhs earnings standards for EWS, following which the Centre agreed to revisit the identical by formulating an skilled committee. A writ petition was filed difficult the Centre’s resolution to introduce EWS/OBC reservation within the All-India Quota for NEET. The SC had noticed that making use of the earnings restrict standards (Rs 8 lakhs p.a.) of OBC Creamy lawyer to EWS was inordinate, because the latter had no idea of social and financial backwardness. The Centre additionally placed on maintain the NEET-PG counselling course of in view of the case pending earlier than the Supreme Court.

EWS Reservation Quota

The EWS Quota was launched by the Modi Government in 2019 following which, a ten per cent reservation quota for members of the final class Economically Weaker Sections is to be offered in public sector instructional establishments and jobs. It was enacted to advertise the welfare of the poor not lined by the 50% reservation coverage for SCs, STs, and OBCs.

Expert Committee for Revisiting the Criteria of the EWS REservation

The Central Government shaped a committee for revisiting the standards of the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) reservation on November 30, 2021, comprising Shri Ajay Bhusan Pandey – Former Finance Secretary, GOI, Prof VK Malhotra – Member Secretary, ICSSR, Shri Sanjeev Sanyal- Principal Economic Advisor to GOI. The committee was to look at varied approaches to this point adopted within the nation for figuring out EWS and advocate standards that could be adopted for figuring out EWS class.

Committee suggestions

The committee summarized the suggestions in 3 factors:

(i) The present gross annual household earnings restrict for EWS of Rs. 8.00 lakh or much less could also be retained. The definition of ‘family’ and earnings would stay identical as these within the Office Memorandum dated seventeenth January 2019.
(ii) EWS might, nevertheless exclude, regardless of earnings, an individual whose household has 5 acres of agricultural land and above.
(iii) The residential asset standards might altogether be eliminated.

“The Committee found that though the specific number of Rs 8 lakhs appears to be the same as the OBC creamy layer cut-off, the application of the cut-off is very different in EWS and OBC as the two have different contexts. The income criterion for the EWS is much more stringent than the one for the OBC creamy layer”, the report stated.
Regarding the residential asset standards, it opined that using residential plot measurement and home flooring space as an asset criterion for identification of EWS, was advanced and acknowledged that it was not simple to specify a common residential space threshold for your complete nation. The Committee has really helpful introducing the brand new standards from the subsequent educational yr.

NEET-PG counselling and medical doctors protests

It could also be famous that resident medical doctors countrywide had launched protests throughout the nation lately in opposition to the delay in NEET-PG counselling because the Centre had placed on maintain the NEET-PG counselling course of in view of the case pending earlier than the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is scheduled to listen to the case on January 6.