President nod for 10 per cent quota for upper caste poor

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the constitutional provision to provide 10-per cent reservation in government jobs and education to economically backward section in the general category.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice said on Saturday that the Constitution (103 Amendment) Act, 2019 has received the assent of the president. The Act amends Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution, by adding a clause which allows states to make “special provision for the advancement of any economically weaker sections of citizens”.

These “special provisions” would relate to “their admission to educational institutions, including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the state, other than the minority educational institutions”.

It also makes it clear that reservation would be “in addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total seats in each category”.

The bill was passed by Parliament on January 9. “For the purposes of this article and article 16, ‘economically weaker sections’ shall be such as may be notified by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage,” the notification read.

Amendment of Article 16 stated, “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any economically weaker sections of citizens other than the classes mentioned in clause (4), in addition to the existing reservation and subject to a maximum of ten per cent of the posts in each category.”

While introducing the Bill in the Parliament, Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot had said that at present, the economically weaker sections of citizens have largely remained excluded from attending the higher educational institutions and public employment on account of their financial in-capacity to compete with those who are economically more privileged.

According to the objects of the bill, “The directive principles of state policy contained in Article 46 of the Constitution enjoins that the State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the SC and the ST.