More and more candidates can now compete for reservation in admission into the Central educational institutions now that the income limit for the “creamy layer” has been upwardly revised by the Government of India.
The Centre has asked the State Government to implement the revised income limit for socially advanced persons section among other backward classes (OBCs), known as creamy layer, in all the Central educational institutions.
The income limit has been revised from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh per annum. This means children of persons having a gross annual income of Rs 6 lakh or above would fall within the creamy layer and would not be entitled to get the benefit of reservation available to the other backward classes.
The Human Resource Development Ministry, in a letter, has directed that the revision must be circulated among the departments so that Central institutions comply with the change.
The revision in income limit came into effect after the Department of Personnel and Training issued a notification stating the revised income limit indicating the creamy layer status.
The income limit has seen a upward revision multiple times since 1993 when the DoPT came up with the creamy layer segment and stipulated that sons and daughters of persons having gross annual income of Rs 1 lakh or above for a period of three consecutive years would fall within the category and will not be able to avail the reservation benefits extended to OBCs. The limit was subsequently raised to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2004 and then to Rs 4.5 lakh in 2008.
The Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare department has, in turn, written to all the District Welfare Officers asking them to inform the officials designated to issue OBC certificates accordingly.