Bill on OBC reservation passed

An amendment bill to provide reservation to other backward classes (OBCs) in the Central educational institutions located in tribal areas was passed by the  Parliament on Wednesday.

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Amendment Bill, 2010, which seeks to amend the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, was adopted by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha.

The Bill, pending passage for over one and a half years in the Parliament, has already received clearance from the Rajya Sabha.

The amendments proposed in the Bill will allow the Central educational institutions to implement the 27 per cent quota for the OBCs in six years time-frame. It will also exempt some institutions from implementing the OBC quota, where the maximum limit of reservation fixed by the Supreme Court has been exceeded.

The principal Act provides for reservation of seats for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and OBCs in “certain” Central educational institutions.  It states that out of the annual permitted seats for a branch of study or faculty, 15 per cent seats shall be reserved for SCs, 7.5 per cent seats for STs and 27 per cent for the OBCs.

However, the amendments seek to strike a balance between the reservation policies adopted by the states and the Centre in educational institutions funded by the Central government, particularly in the north-eastern states, to ensure that regional aspirations are met.

The bill adds a proviso that if there are Central educational institutions in a tribal area under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the state seats in those institutions shall have reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.  

Raja attends Lok Sabha

A day after his release from prison, former Telecom minister A Raja showed up in Parliament on Wednesday, reports DHNS from New Delhi.

The DMK member, dressed in white shirt and black trousers, arrived at the Parliament House shortly before 12 noon, got out of his car and entered Parliament. Even as a battery of mediapersons jostled for a quote from him, the 49-year-old MP refused to speak. He headed straight to the Lok Sabha. He occupied one of the seats in the back rows among the treasury benches. He sat in the House briefly during Zero Hour in the afternoon and exchanged pleasantries with some members. He later made a quiet exit in the company of some DMK members.