-The Hindu A well-designed assignment mechanism is vital for the quota for economically weaker sections to work A new Constitution amendment provides 10% reservation to individuals from economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category for government jobs and educational institutions in India. This law raises several implementation questions. Under the law, EWS applicants may even find it harder to obtain positions. These problems can be addressed using the science of matching...

-The Indian Express A two-year-long study jointly undertaken by the SPPU, JNU and Indian Institute of Dalit Studies has revealed that only 22.3 per cent of the country’s higher caste Hindus own 41 per cent of the country’s total wealth Pune: Caste continues to play a significant role in the educational and professional choices available to an individual, and the resultant income and assets, reveals a two-year-long study jointly undertaken by...

-The Indian Express Policy is not based on assessments of deprivation — it merely addresses specific groups The Gujjars of Rajasthan are back on the streets. This could be seen as an attempt to corner the newly-formed Congress government in the state. Both Congress and BJP have had the taste of Gujjar wrath earlier. It could also be seen as an extension of intra-party factionalism playing out in the open for...

-The Indian Express It would have made more sense — economically, legally, politically, morally, constitutionally — to have limited 10 per cent EWS reservation to those with farming or rural backgrounds The last few years have seen the so-called dominant farming communities — especially the Jats, Marathas, Patidars and Kapus — mount violent agitations demanding quotas in government jobs and higher educational institutions, whether under the OBC (Other Backward Class) or...

-The Hindu Instead of addressing inequality, the 10% quota for economically weaker sections creates huge anxieties If the number of demands for implementing reforms is any guide, India’s reservation system is clearly in disarray. However, it is unlikely that the recently passed Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, 2019, creating a 10% quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS), will serve as anything more than a band-aid. Given the deep inequalities prevalent in access to...