-Hindustan Times The next census, in 2021, is slated to count OBCs for the first time in 90 years. The commission, headed by former high court chief justice G Rohini, is giving the finishing touches to its report that will be submitted next month. A key government panel is likely to recommend radical changes to how the 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is implemented in India for jobs and...

-The Telegraph Nearly 80 per cent of SC, ST and OBC students who cracked NEET cleared the cut-off meant for general-category students The results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, declared on Wednesday, have shown that aspiring doctors from underprivileged social backgrounds are no less than general-category students when it comes to merit. Nearly 80 per cent of students from among the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes who cracked the NEET...

-The Indian Express To fulfil the constitutional requirement, reservation must be based on a rigorous identification of economic backwardness. The introduction of the 124th constitutional amendment that provides the possibility of quotas for the “economically weaker sections” (EWS) has rekindled the debate on reservations. These quotas diverge from reservation policies for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other socially and educationally backward classes, by jettisoning caste or community identity as the...

-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...

-Frontline.in The Oxfam India report on employment says jobs remain a huge challenge in India where half of the workforce depends on agriculturefor livelihood. Employment, or the lack of it, has emerged as one of the most contentious issues in the general election this year. Most surveys show that the single biggest concern preoccupying the electorate, especially the youth, is unemployment. The very fact that the government introduced a quota for the...