While the Prime Minister’s Office is still trying to work out how January’s Constitutional amendment may be used to increase access to higher education for backward classes, the Law Ministry’s draft Bill is ready. The draft, Reservation of Seats in Central Educational Institutions, 2006, was sent to the HRD Ministry which forwarded it to the Cabinet Secretariat on March 27. However, the Cabinet Secretariat asked for clarification on two points: the need for a law and whether a further notification was needed for OBCs. The Law Ministry pointed out that the January amendment to Article 15 gave the State the power to make any special provision, “by law.” The draft Bill, therefore, has seven sections clearly earmarking 27 per cent for “educationally and socially backward classes up to a maximum of 50 per cent (the cap on quotas set by the Supreme Court)” in all 32 Central educational institutions. This means that the existing SC/ST reservation of 22.5 percent will make the total reservation 49.5 percent and the remaining 0.5 percent could be further added, if and when further castes are notified under the “socially and educationally backward classes.” As for notifying OBCs, the Bill refers to Article 340 of the Constitution which provides for the setting up of a Backward Classes Commission on whose recommendations the government can notify “educationally and socially backward classes.” Incidentally, as of now, there is no backward classes commission under Article 340 and the last such commission was the B P Mandal Commission. Its report was tabled in both Houses of Parliament and castes were also notified. The same caste list, therefore, doesn’t need to be presented to Parliament again.
