Union Government Constitutes Panel To Revisit Criteria To Determine EWS Category
New Delhi: The Union government has constituted a three-member committee to revisit the criteria to determine the economically weaker sections (EWS) for reservation in employment and education, headed by former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.
The government had informed the Supreme Court last week that it has taken a considered decision to revisit the criteria. The move came after the top court grilled the government on how it had arrived at Rs 8 lakh annual income as the limit for inclusion in the EWS category, saying numbers cannot be pulled out of thin air and must be based on scientific methods.
The court was hearing a challenge to the Union government's notification granting 27% reservation for the other backward classes (OBCs) and 10% for the EWS category in post-graduate medical courses.
According to news agency PTI, the social justice and empowerment ministry issued an official memorandum on Tuesday constituting the committee in accordance with the commitment given to the Supreme Court to revisit the criteria for determining the economically weaker sections (EWS) in terms of the provisions of the explanation to Article 15 of the constitution.
The committee will revisit the criterion to determine the EWS category keeping in view the observations of the Supreme Court. It will also examine various approaches so far followed in the country for identifying economically weaker sections and recommend criteria that may be adopted for identifying the EWS category in future, the memorandum said.
The committee members are former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, member secretary of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) V.K. Malhotra and principal economic advisor to the government Sanjay Sanyal.
The committee has been asked to complete its work within three weeks. The government had informed the top court that it would require four weeks to complete the exercise. Accordingly, counselling for PG-NEET, the post-graduate medical course entrance exam, was postponed by four weeks.
(With PTI inputs)
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