• Friday, March 29, 2024

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Modi government announces quota in medical, dental courses

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Shubham Ghosh

THE Narendra Modi government on Thursday (29) announced a 27-per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category in the All-India Quota (AIQ) scheme for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses from the 2021-22 academic year.
Prime minister Modi hailed the decision and said in a tweet, “This will immensely help thousands of our youth every year get better opportunities and create a new paradigm of social justice in our country.” Mayawati, a Dalit opposition leader, said it was nothing but poll gimmick.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya also called the move “historic”.

“A historic decision has been taken by the government in the field of medical education in the country. Under All India Quota, 27 per cent reservation will be given to OBC students and 10 per cent to weaker income group (EWS) students in undergraduate/post graduate, medical and dental education,” he tweeted.

At a meeting held on Monday (26), Modi had asked the Union ministries concerned to come up with an effective solution to this long-pending issue, a statement which was issued by the health ministry said.

“This decision would benefit nearly 1,500 OBC students in MBBS and 2,500 OBC students in postgraduation and also around 550 EWS students in MBBS and around 1,000 EWS students in postgraduation,” it added.

Modi government announces quota in medical, dental courses
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images)

“The present government is committed to providing due reservation both to the backward category as well as the EWS category. The Union government has now taken a historic decision to provide for 27 per cent reservation for OBCs and 10 per cent reservation for EWS in the AIQ scheme,” the ministry stated.

Under the new arrangement, OBC students from all across India will benefit from the reservation in the AIQ scheme to compete for seats in any state of the Union. The Central List of OBCs will be used for the purpose.

The AIQ scheme was introduced in 1986 under the Supreme Court of India’s directions to give domicile-free merit-based opportunities to students from any state who aim to study in a good medical college in another state. The AIQ consists of 15 per cent of the total available undergraduate seats and 50 per cent of the total available post-graduate seats in government medical colleges.

Initially, there was no reservation in the AIQ scheme up to 2007 when the apex court introduced 15 per cent reservation for the Scheduled Castes and 7.5 per cent quota for the Scheduled Tribes in the scheme.

Dalit leader blasts Modi and Uttar Pradesh government

The government’s move faced steep criticism from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo and former chief minister of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati. On Friday, the Dalit leader said the reservation for OBCs in the medical and dental courses of government colleges came late and one suspects the decision has been taken to reap electoral benefits.

Uttar Pradesh goes to the assembly elections early next year.

Mayawati said her party has been asking for filling up of the backlog in the reserved category seats in government jobs, but neither the Modi government at the Centre nor the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh showed any interest.

In a tweet in Hindi, the BSP chief said, “Declaration of OBC quota in all-India UG and PG seats of government medical colleges in the country is a very late step. Had the Centre taken the decision earlier, they would have benefitted a lot by now, but now people see this decision as having been taken to serve electoral interests.”

“Although the BSP has been continuously demanding filling up of the backlog posts of the SC, ST and OBC quota in government jobs for a long time, the governments of different states, including that of UP, and the Centre have remained indifferent towards the real interest and welfare of these sections. This is very unfortunate,” the BSP leader said.

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