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Cabinet approves Rs. 4.5-lakh income ceiling for creamy layer

NEW DELHI: The government has approved raising the income criterion for the creamy layer among the Other Backward Classes (OBC) from Rs. 2.5 lakh to 4.5 lakh a year. This will help in bringing more people under the reservation category.

This decision, taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday, will also help students seeking admission under the Central Educational Institutions Act, 2006, which provides 27 per cent reservation for the OBCs.

The proposal had come from the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry on the recommendations of the National Commission for Backward Classes. It was discussed at an inter-governmental level, involving the ministries of Tribal Affairs and Home, and the Departments of Personnel and Training, Law and Human Resource Development, besides Social Justice and Empowerment.

The Commission, which submitted its report on July 1, took into account the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission, besides the all-India consumer price index, price rise, inflation rate, the monthly per capita expenditure of the OBCs, their economic conditions, and per capita national product before arriving at the new ceiling.

Most of the States had demanded that the new ceiling be fixed at between Rs. 4 lakh and 6 lakh. Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh had, in fact sought much higher ceilings of Rs. 25 lakh and 10 lakh.

The annual income ceiling for OBC reservation was fixed at Rs. 1 lakh, first in 1993. It was increased to Rs. 2.5 lakh in 2004.

The Cabinet decision would be communicated to the Human Resource Development Ministry and the Department of Personnel and Training for issuance of appropriate orders to central educational institutions and government departments.

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