The Hindu Business Line : Educational quota Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

The Union Human Resources Development Minister, Mr Arjun Singh, today introduced in the Lok Sabha a Bill providing for 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Central educational institutions, which is to be made operational from the academic year 2007.

Called the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission Bill) 2006, it makes no mention of the creamy layer. It states that the reservation of seats in admission and its extent in a Central educational institution should be provided in the ensuing fashion.

Out of the annual permitted strength in each branch of study or faculty, 15 per cent seats should be reserved for scheduled castes, seven-and-a-half per cent for scheduled tribes and 27 per cent for OBCs.

However, the provisions of reservation would not apply to Central educational institutions established in tribal areas and institutions of excellence.

The latter include Homi Bhabha National Institute (Mumbai) and its constituent units numbering 10, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai), North-Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science (Shillong), National Brain Research Centre (Manesar and Gurgaon), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (Bangalore), Physical Research Laboratory (Ahmedabad), Space Physics Laboratory (Thiruvananthapuram) and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (Dehradun).

The provisions would not apply to minority institutions established and administered by the minorities under clause (1) of Article 30 of the Constitution.

Alongside, the Bill provides that every Central educational institution should, with the prior approval of the appropriate authority, increase the number of seats in a branch of study or faculty over and above its annual permitted strength so that the number of seats, excluding those reserved for the persons belonging to SCs, STs and OBCs, is not less than the number of such seats available for the academic session immediately preceding the date of the coming into force of this Act.

The Speaker referred the Bill to a Standing Parliamentary Committee.