Bihar govt issues gazette notifications for raising quota from 50 to 65 per cent
PATNA: The Nitish Kumar government on Tuesday issued gazette notifications for raising the quota for deprived castes from 50 to 65 per cent in state government jobs and educational institutions, after receiving assent from Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
Governor Arlekar had signed the two Bills on November 18. Earlier both the Assembly and Council had passed the Bills on November 9 unanimously.
The Governor gave his assent to the two Reservation Amendment Bills barely a few days after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed hope that the Bills would be signed by the Governor at the earliest.
With issuance of gazette notification, reservation in government jobs and educational institutions in the state will be 75 per cent (inclusive of a 10 per cent quota for Economically Backward Sections). Under the new provision, the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs) has gone up to 20 per cent, while that of Scheduled Tribes (STs) has gone up to 2 per cent, Extremely Backwards Classes (EBCs) to 25 per cent and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to 18 per cent.
At present the SCs get 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions as SCs get 1 per cent only.
Similarly, EBCs get 18 per cent and OBCs 15 per cent respectively. Gazette notification said, “On analysis of data collected during caste-based survey 2022-23, it is apparent that large section of OBCs, SCs and STs need to be promoted for them to catch up to satisfy cherished aim in the Constitution of equality in opportunity and status.”
It further stated, “The members of SC/ST and OBC have remained deprived and marginalised for centuries. Though affirmative action has led to improvement in their life to a certain extent, the ultimate goal of equality has not yet been achieved. Date further strengthens the perception that in addition to measures already in place the State is required to take further measures to accelerate the ultimate objective of proportional equality.”
According to the caste-based survey report released on October 2, OBC and EBC together comprised 63.13 per cent of the state's total population. SC comprised 19.6 per cent while ST formed 1.68 per cent. Upper Castes were found to be 15.52 per cent.
The survey covered 112 castes in all sections in the state. JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Singh said, “The move is aligned with the government's commitment to address social disparities and promote inclusivity.”