10% Reservation for poor among upper caste : who all will benefit ?

The Modi government today (January 7) approved a 10 per cent reservation for economically backward upper castes in government jobs.

Following the cabinet approval, the Narendra Modi government will now move to amend the Constitution in order to grant this reservation for the economically weaker upper castes.

The new quota proposal seeks to benefit the economically backward among those castes that do not fall under the quota meant for socially backward. This means that people who do not benefit from the 50 per cent existing quota and are below the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) criteria, will benefit from this proposal.

However, certain prerequisites have to be met by a person in order to qualify as a beneficiary for the reservation.

To begin with, people with an annual income of below Rs 8 lakh and those with agricultural land below five hectare are eligible for the quota.

Those who have a residential property below 1,000 sq ft will also be able to avail the benefits of this quota.

Those with residential plot below 109 yards in a notified municipality or a residential plot below 209 yards in a non-notified municipality area may also benefit from this move.