Editor's Pick: Centre to review criteria for EWS quota

The Union Government has informed the Supreme Court that it had taken a “considered decision” to revisit the “criteria” for determining Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to provide them reservation. The Government, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, said it would take four weeks for the exercise. The submission follows rounds of grilling from the court during past hearings to reveal the logic and study before zeroing in on the “exact figure” of ₹8 lakh as the annual income limit to identify the EWS. “The Union Government has taken a considered decision to revisit the criteria for determining the economically weaker sections in terms of the provisions of the Explanation to Article 15 of the Constitution inserted by the Constitution (103rdAmendment) Act, 2019,” a Bench led by D.Y. Chandrachud recorded in its order. The court was hearing a case filed by NEET aspirants challenging a July 29 notification announcing 27% quota to OBCs and 10% reservation to the EWS in the All India Quota (AIQ) category. The Government assured the court that the NEET counselling would be deferred for four weeks till a decision was taken on the EWS quota. The Bench has scheduled the case next on January 6. Mr. Mehta, appearing for the Government along with Additional Solicitor-General K.M. Natraj, said they have been instructed to submit that a committee would be set up to review the “criteria” to identify the EWS category. The EWS quota was meant for persons who earned less than ₹8 lakh annually and did not benefit from any other existing reservation. In a previous hearing, the apex court had expressed its annoyance at the Government for not filing an affidavit explaining how it reached the ₹8 lakh figure to identify the EWS category. “Tell us if you want to revisit the criteria or not. If you want us to discharge our duties, then we are ready to do so. We are formulating questions… you need to answer them,” Justice Chandrachud had said. “You cannot just pick ₹8 lakh from thin air and fix it as a criterion. There has to be some basis, some study. Tell us whether any demographic study or data was taken into account in fixing the limit. How do you arrive at this exact figure?” the court had asked the Government. In August, after the Supreme Court ruling that economic criterion alone cannot be used to classify a member of a Backward Class as belonging to a ‘creamy layer’, an editorial in The Hindu said, “With the current income ceiling being ₹8 lakh per annum for availing of both OBC and EWS quotas, there is a strange and questionable balance between the OBC and EWS segments in terms of eligibility, even though the size of the respective quotas vary.” In this backdrop, the Government’s decision to rethink the economic criteria to provide reservation to the economically backward sections makes it the top story of the day. The Hindu's Editorials Raiding party: On Mamata Banerjee’s national ambitions Measuring progress: On the lessons of National Family Health Survey-5 Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click here Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Which Indian State will grant its employees leave on New Year to visit their parents? 1. Assam 2. Gujarat 3. Maharashtra 4. Karnataka To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 26 NOVEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Centre to review criteria for EWS quota [Centre to review criteria for EWS quota] The Union Government has informed the Supreme Court that it had taken a “considered decision” to revisit the “criteria” for [determining Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)]( to provide them reservation. The Government, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, said it would take four weeks for the exercise. The submission follows rounds of grilling from the court during past hearings to reveal the logic and study before zeroing in on the “exact figure” of [₹8 lakh as the annual income limit]( to identify the EWS. “The Union Government has taken a considered decision to revisit the criteria for determining the economically weaker sections in terms of the provisions of the Explanation to Article 15 of the Constitution inserted by the Constitution (103rdAmendment) Act, 2019,” a Bench led by D.Y. Chandrachud recorded in its order. The court was hearing [a case filed by NEET aspirants]( challenging a July 29 notification announcing 27% quota to OBCs and 10% reservation to the EWS in the All India Quota (AIQ) category. The Government assured the court that the NEET counselling would be deferred for four weeks till a decision was taken on the EWS quota. The Bench has scheduled the case next on January 6.  Mr. Mehta, appearing for the Government along with Additional Solicitor-General K.M. Natraj, said they have been instructed to submit that a committee would be set up to review the “criteria” to identify the EWS category. The EWS quota was meant for persons who earned less than ₹8 lakh annually and did not benefit from any other existing reservation. In a previous hearing, the apex court had expressed its annoyance at the Government for not filing an affidavit explaining how it reached the ₹8 lakh figure to identify the EWS category. “Tell us if you want to revisit the criteria or not. If you want us to discharge our duties, then we are ready to do so. We are formulating questions… you need to answer them,” Justice Chandrachud had said. “You cannot just pick ₹8 lakh from thin air and fix it as a criterion. There has to be some basis, some study. Tell us whether any demographic study or data was taken into account in fixing the limit. How do you arrive at this exact figure?” the court had asked the Government. In August, after the Supreme Court ruling that economic criterion alone cannot be used to classify a member of a Backward Class as belonging to a ‘creamy layer’, an editorial in The Hindu said, “With the current income ceiling being ₹8 lakh per annum for availing of both OBC and EWS quotas, there is a strange and questionable balance between the OBC and EWS segments in terms of eligibility, even though the size of the respective quotas vary.” In this backdrop, the Government’s decision to rethink the economic criteria to provide reservation to the economically backward sections makes it the top story of the day. [underlineimg] The Hindu's Editorials [Arrow][Raiding party: On Mamata Banerjee’s national ambitions]( [Arrow][Measuring progress: On the lessons of National Family Health Survey-5]( [underlineimg]  Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. 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