The center government issued notification regarding inclusion and amendments in the Central List of other Backward Classes (OBC) notified in respect of the eight states such as Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Government issued notification regarding amendments of Central OBC list after considering the recommendation of NCBC

The government has issued the notification while considering the recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).  A total of 2479 entries for inclusion, including its synonyms, sub-castes etc. in the Central list of other Backward Classes have been notified in 25 states and Union Territories. On September 2016, last such notification was issued by the government.

At the same time, NCBC was received more advices for the inclusion of castes/communities and corrections in the existing list of OBCs for the State of Bihar, Assam, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh. NCBC has recommended 28 changes in respect of eight states including Jammu and Kashmir (15 new entries, 09 synonyms/sub-castes and 04 corrections) have been notified.

People from OBC can enjoy the benefit of quotas as per the changes

The transformations will allow the persons belonging to these castes communities to enjoy the benefit of quotas in Government services and posts as well as in Central Educational Institutions as per the current policy. They will also be able to take the benefits under the various welfare schemes, scholarships etc.  being managed by the Central Government, which are currently available to the persons belonging to the other Backward Classes.

The NCBC was set up in pursuance to the Supreme Court judgment in the Indra Sawhney case as per the NCBC Act 1993. Section 9 (“Functions of the Commission”) of the NCBC Act 1993 states as under:

(i) The Commission shall examine requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backward class in the lists and hear complaints of over inclusion or under-inclusion of any backward class in such lists and tender such advice to the Central Government as it deems appropriate.

(ii) The advice of the Commission shall ordinarily be binding upon the Central Government.