The government on Wednesday approved inclusion of 15 new castes and modification in 13 other castes in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal.
The National Commission of Backward Classes (NCBC) had recommended a total of 28 changes in eight states – Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
Out of these 28, 15 were new entries, nine were synonyms or sub-castes of the castes which were already in the list, and 4 were corrections.
The changes will enable the persons belonging to these castes/communities to avail the benefits of reservation in Government services and posts as well as in Central Educational Institutions as per the existing policy.Official Statement
They will also become eligible for benefit under the various welfare schemes and scholarships being administered by the Central Government, which are at present available to persons belonging to the Other Backward Classes, it added.
On the NCBC recommendation, a total of 2,479 entries for inclusion, including its synonyms, sub-castes, etc in the Central List of OBCs have been notified in 25 States and 6 Union Territories.
The last such notification was issued in September 2016.
NCBC examines requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backward class in the lists and hears complaints of over-inclusion or under-inclusion of any backward class in such lists. Its advice is binding upon the Central Government.
Meanwhile, the Centre is already considering relaxing the creamy layer norms for the OBC.
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