What146;s Creamy Layer?

8226; As per the Mandal judgment, children of constitutional functionaries including the President, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, members of the UPSC, Groups A and B or Class I or II officers of the All-India Central and State services and children of public sector employees are excluded from reservation.

8226; Further, children of all OBCs whose gross annual income is more than Rs. 2.5 lakh must not get the benefit of reservation.

8226;State governments have been given the leeway to determine who they deem to be an OBC, and grounds for exemptions have also been made clear in each case.

How they do it

CHINA Allows non-Han ethnic groups around nine per cent of the population to be exempt from a national one-child policy. There is also a quota for minority representatives in the National Assembly.

MALAYSIA Affirmative action, but for the majority Malays. After race riots in 1969, Malaysia introduced a policy under which public servants are almost all ethnic Malays and any investments would require Malays to control 30 per cent of equity holdings.

SOUTH AFRICA The Black Economic Empowerment policy is aimed at shifting more of the economy and wealth into the hands of the black majority. The financial services industry has a charter pledging it will be 25 per cent black-owned by 2010, of which 10 per cent has to be direct ownership.

UNITED STATES To correct the legacy of centuries of black slavery and discrimination, the United States launched race quotas in the 1960s for university entrance and employment. Some states have rolled back these rules in line with Supreme Court decisions weakening the relevant laws.