Why in News?

• According to a gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Justice G. Rohini-led commission for the sub-categorisation of other backward classes (OBCs) has now been given yet another extension in its tenure by the President.

About the News:

• This is the 14th extension in tenure that the commission has been given. 
• The commission, formed in October 2017, was initially given 12 weeks to finish the task of sub-categorising the nearly 3,000 castes within the OBC umbrella and recommend division of the 27% OBC quota among them equitably. 
• Initially, the government cited more time required by the panel to gather information and data and then it cited the pandemic.

About the Commission:

• The commission was set up on 2nd October, 2017 under Article 340 of the Constitution.
• It was tasked with sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and equitable distribution of benefits reserved for them.
• In 2015, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) had recommended that OBCs should be categorised into extremely backward classes, more backward classes and backward classes.
• NCBC has the authority to examine complaints and welfare measures regarding socially and educationally backward classes.

Commission’s Terms of References:

• To examine the uneven distribution of reservation benefits among different castes in the central OBC list.
• To work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such OBCs.
• To take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes/communities/sub-castes/synonyms for comprehensive data coverage.
• To study and recommend correction of any repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription.

Work Done So Far:

• It has met representatives of state governments, state backward classes commissions, community associations etc. apart from obtaining caste-wise data of OBCs in higher educational institutions and recruits in central departments, public sector banks and financial institutions.
• In 2021, the commission proposed to divide OBCs into four subcategories numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 and split the 27% into 2, 6, 9 and 10%, respectively.
• It also recommended complete digitisation of all OBC records and a standardised system of issuing OBC certificates.

How has the status of OBC reservation evolved over time?

• The Kalelkar Commission, set up in 1953, was the first to identify backward classes other than the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) at the national level.
• The Mandal Commission Report, 1980 estimated the OBC population at 52% and classified 1,257 communities as backward.
• It recommended increasing the existing quotas, which were only for SC/ST, from 22.5% to 49.5% to include the OBCs.
• The central government reserved 27% of seats in union civil posts and services for OBCs [Article 16(4)]. The quotas were subsequently enforced in central government educational institutions [Article 15 (4)].
• In 2008, the Supreme Court directed the central government to exclude the creamy layer (advanced sections) among the OBCs.
• The 102nd Constitution Amendment Act, 2018 provided constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), which was previously a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.