Inclusion of castes in OBC list: Cabinet likely to take up

The Cabinet is likely to take up tomorrow the issue of inclusion of about 60 castes from 13 states and Union Territories in the central list of OBCs.
In the event of the Cabinet clearing the proposal by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, people hailing from the respective communities would become eligible for reservation in central jobs and educational institutions.
The castes were recommended by the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), a statutory body constituted for inclusion and exclusion of communities in the OBC list.
It had recommended for inclusion of over 60 castes in the central list of OBCs between 2011 and 2013, sources said.

The communities belong to states including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Union Territories of Puducherry and Chandigarh, besides Delhi.
Among the states, West Bengal tops the list with more than 35 castes, the sources said.

The backward classes commission considers the inclusion of a caste, after states and Union Territory administrations send their proposal in the connection.
Thereafter, the NCBC studies the current status of the communities and forwards the list of caste to the government for inclusion. Further, it is would be placed in the Cabinet, which takes the final call.

As of now, an approximate number of 2,340 castes in the central list of OBCs.