Govt defers income ceiling hike for OBCs

Government on Thursday deferred a proposal by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry to raise the income ceiling from Rs 4.5 lakh per annum to Rs 6 lakh for the creamy layer OBC candidates for government jobs and admission into premier educational institutions.

The Ministry had sought the revision to ensure eligibility of more OBC candidates in higher education institutions and government jobs, sources said.

The income ceiling was increased from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4.5 lakh in 2008, but even that could not achieve the desired result of filling the vacancies under the OBC category.

Recently, the Ministry had sought increasing the creamy layer income ceiling to Rs 12 lakh in urban areas and Rs 9 lakh in rural areas, which too was rejected by the government.
The proposal was made keeping in mind the present inflationary trend and other factors such as the cost of living, the sources said.

Under the present arrangement, the OBC creamy layer can get reservation while seeking admission in premier educational institutions such as the IIT’s and IIMs. But the seats reserved there have remained vacant due to unavailability of candidates.

Aiming to address educational needs of the students from the backward communities, the Cabinet gave its nod for a new scholarship scheme for the Scheduled Caste  students.