Term of panel for OBC rejig extended

The Government on Saturday extended the term of a commission appointed by the President in October to examine sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by another 12 weeks.

It could not finish its work by this year-end to enable Finance Minister Arun Jaitley incorporate different kinds of benefits to the OBCs in his Union Budget on February 1.

The commission headed by retired Delhi High Court Chief Justice G Rohini was supposed to give its report on January 3, but its term now stands extended to present its report by March 27, says a gazette notification by the ministry of social justice.

The Union Cabinet had decided in August to re-examine the OBC reservation, 25 years after implementation of the Mandal Commission report bringing 27% reservation for all OBCs, soon after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced to raise the creamy layer criteria from Rs 6 lakh annual income to Rs 8 lakh.

The core purpose of the commission’s constitution is to look at sub-categorisation of around 5,000 castes on the central OBC list to ensure “more equitable distribution” of opportunities in central government jobs and educational institutions.