Cabinet nod to changes in OBC list

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Government today gave its go-ahead to the amendment of the central list of Other Backwards Castes to ensure reservation benefits to about 60 castes and communities which have not been able to avail of these so far.
Based on the recommendations of the National Commission for Backward Classes, the Union Cabinet gave its approval for making amendments in the Central List of OBCs in respect of 60 castes in 13 states by way of inclusion, correction, deletion of these castes and communities.
The amendments will notify 115 changes recommended by the NCBC, an official statement said.

The states where these castes and communities belong to are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, and three Union Territories of Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.
"The proposed changes will enable persons belonging to these castes/communities to avail benefits of reservation in government services and posts as well as in central educational institutions according to existing policy.
"They will also become eligible for benefits under various welfare schemes and scholarships, being administered by the central government, which are at present available to persons belonging to the OBCs," the statement said.

A total of 30 notifications have been issued so far and till date, a total of 2343 "entries" (caste, including its synonyms, sub-castes) have been notified in the central list of OBCs for 24 states and six union territories.
The last such notification was issued in December, 2011.