The Union Cabinet
chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the norms
for establishing equivalence of posts in Government and posts in PSUs, PSBs
etc. for claiming benefit of OBC reservations. This addresses an issue pending
for nearly 24 years. This will ensure that the children of those serving in
lower categories in PSUs and other institutions can get the benefit of OBC
reservations, on par with children of people serving in lower categories in
Government. This will also prevent children of those in senior positions in
such institutions, who, owing to absence of equivalence of posts, may have been
treated as non Creamy Layer by virtue of wrong interpretation of income
standards from cornering government posts reserved for OBCs and denying the
genuine non creamy layer candidates a level playing field.
The Union Cabinet also
approved the increase in the present income criterion of Rs. 6 lakh per annum
for applying the Creamy Layer restriction throughout the country, for excluding
Socially Advanced Persons/Sections (Creamy Layer) from the purview of
reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). The new income criterion
will be Rs. 8 lakh per annum. The increase in the income limit to exclude the
Creamy Layer is in keeping with the increase in the Consumer Price Index and
will enable more persons to take advantage of reservation benefits extended to
OBCs in government services and admission to central educational institutions.
These measures are a
part of the Government's efforts to ensure greater social justice and inclusion
for members of the Other Backward Classes. The Government has already
introduced in Parliament, a bill to provide Constitutional status to the
National Commission for Backward Classes. It has also decided to set up a
Commission, under section 340 of the Constitution, to sub categorize the OBCs,
so that the more backward among the OBC communities can also access the
benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs. All
these decisions, taken together, are expected to ensure greater representation
of OBCs in educational institutions and jobs, while also ensuring that the more
under-privileged within the category are not denied their chance of social
mobility.
Background:
In its judgment dated
16.11.1992 in WP(C) 930/1990 (IndraSawhney case) the Supreme Court had directed
the Government to specify the basis, for exclusion of socially and economically
advanced persons from Other Backward Classes by applying the relevant and
requisite socio-economic criteria.
An Expert Committee was
constituted in February 1993 which submitted its report on 10.03.1993
specifying the criteria for identification of socially advanced persons among
OBCs i.e. the Creamy Layer. The report was accepted by the then Ministry of
Welfare and forwarded to DoPT which issued an OM dated 08.09.1993 on exclusion
from the Creamy Layer.
The OM of 08.09.1993
specifies six categories for identifying Creamy Layer (a) Constitutional/Statutory
post (b) Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Officers of Central and State Governments,
employees of PSUs and Statutory bodies, universities, (c) Colonel and above in
armed forces and equivalent in paramilitary forces (d) professionals like
Doctors, Lawyers, Management Consultants, Engineers etc. (e) Property owners
with agricultural holdings or vacant land and/or buildings and (f)
income/wealth tax asessee.
The OM further
stipulates that the said parameters would apply mutatis mutandis to officers
holding equivalent or comparable posts in PSUs, Banks, Insurance Organizations,
Universities, etc. and Government was required to determine equivalence of
positions in these organizations with those in Government.
Pending the equivalence
to the established in these institutions Income criteria would apply for the
officers in these Institutions.
However, this exercise
of determining the equivalence of posts in Government and posts in PSUs, PSBs
etc. had not been initiated. The determination of equivalence of posts has been
thus pending for almost 24 years.
The matter of
formulating equivalence has since been examined in detail. In PSUs, all
Executive level posts i.e. Board level executives and managerial level posts
would be treated as equivalent to group 'A' posts in Government and will be
considered Creamy Layer. Junior Management Grade Scale–1 and above of Public
Sector Banks, Financial Institutions and Public Sector Insurance Corporations
will be treated as equivalent to Group 'A' in the Government of India and
considered as Creamy Layer. For Clerks and Peons in PSBs, FIs and PSICs, the
Income Test as revised from time to time will be applicable. These are the
broad guidelines and each individual Bank, PSU, Insurance Company would place
the matter before their respective board to identify individual posts.
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AKT/VBA/SH