According to Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, approximately 80 more castes in six States are now likely to be added to the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), with the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) already processing the approval for most of them.
- Hansraj Gangaram Ahir is the chairperson of NCBC.
Key points
- As per the Procedure for Addition prescribed in the NCBC Act, 1993, the panel is mandated to constitute a Bench to examine such proposals and then forward the decision to the Union government .
- The Cabinet then needs to approve the additions and bring legislation to this effect, following which the President is empowered to notify the change.
- There are currently over 2,650 different communities listed in the Central OBC list for all States and Union Territories, including the 16 communities that were added since 2014.
- In addition to taking credit for the recent additions, the Union government noted its move to bring the 105th Amendment to the Constitution. It said that this reaffirmed the States’ right to maintain their own OBC lists — effectively saving 671 State OBC communities from being deprived of benefits.
