OBCs earning over Rs 6 lakh annually won't get quotas

March 16, 2013

OBCs_EaringNew Delhi, Mar 16: OBCs earning over Rs 6 lakh annually will not be eligible for reservations in jobs and education with a group of ministers on Friday deciding to raise the 'creamy layer' bar from Rs 4.50 lakh as part of the revision done every four years.

The increase, however, marks a setback for the 'backward lobby' of ministers that blocked the proposal for fixing creamy layer at Rs 6 lakh in the Cabinet last June, arguing it did not reflect the fall in value of currency and inflation. 'Creamy layer' is the income limit beyond which OBCs are not eligible for quotas.

A group of ministers headed by P Chidambaram is learnt to have weighed in favour of retaining the income level suggested by social justice ministry that ran into resistance in the Cabinet last year. It included HRD minister Pallam Raju, social justice minister Selja and MoS in PMO V Narayanasamy.

While there were murmurs that the bar be raised further, the finance minister argued that keeping the quota net too high would crowd out the genuinely poor and the needy among backwards.

The higher the income ceiling, more the people would qualify for reservations with a greater inclusion of affluent sections. It is seen to disadvantage the poor among OBCs.

While the creamy layer would be final only once approved by the Union Cabinet, Narayanasamy's presence in the GoM suggests a sense of finality.

Narayanasamy, along with petroleum minister Veerappa Moily and overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi, had opposed the Rs 6 lakh proposal in the Cabinet, saying it be at least Rs 7 lakh. The resistance forced the prime minister to refer the issue for consultations.

The Chidambaram-led ministerial panel's move to keep a "uniform Rs 6 lakh salary bar" is way below the recommendation made by National Commission for Backward Classes that it should be Rs 12 lakh in urban areas and Rs 9 lakh in rural areas.

The social justice ministry is learnt to have rebuffed NCBC on various counts. It argued against dual creamy layer for rural and urban areas, and questioned the panel for not doing due diligence.

The income ceiling was introduced at Rs 1 lakh in 1993 and was revised to Rs 2.50 lakh in 2004 and Rs 4.50 lakh in 2008.

As against NCBC's suggestion of Rs 12 lakh that reflected Mandal satraps' long-held aversion for the concept of creamy layer, the Centre seems to have been deterred by the backlash of a huge hike.

While there can be judicial challenge arguing that setting the bar too low is designed to neutralize the income ceiling, there are fears in the ruling dispensation that quota for rich OBCs would lead to demands from upper castes that their poor too be given reservations.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Mumbai, Mar 28: Industrialist Ratan Tata on Saturday announced that Tata Trusts has committed Rs 500 crore for the medical supplies and equipments which will help combat the coronavirus outbreak.

"The COVID-19 crisis is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time," said Ratan Tata, in an official release.

"Tata is committing Rs 500 crore for: personal protective equipment for the medical personnel on the frontlines; respiratory systems for treating increasing cases; testing kits to increase per capita testing; setting up modular treatment facilities for infected patients and knowledge management and training of health workers and the general public," Tata added.
Tata Chairman also expressed his deep gratitude for the members of all the organizations who are fighting coronavirus at the frontline, puting their life at risk.

"The Tata Trusts, Tata Sons and the Tata group companies are joined by committed local and global partners as well as the government to fight this crisis on a united public health collaboration platform which will strive to reach out to sections that are underprivileged and deprived," he added.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 873 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the country and 19 fatalities have been reported.

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News Network
May 12,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, May 12: Kerala Government on Tuesday issued modified guidelines for infrastructure arrangements and procedures to be followed to ensure smooth interstate movement of stranded persons during the lockdown.

"Necessary permission, if any, required from the State where you are presently located need to be taken for ensuring a smooth journey till Kerala border," read the order by the state government.

It has also made it clear that people will only be allowed to travel if they have the permit from the state government and local authorities.

"You are requested to start the journey only after receiving the travel permit from the Government of Kerala and the local authority of your present location to avoid any problem during travel. Those who reach at the check post without passes will not be allowed entry," it further read.

The orders by the government further read:

*To maintain social distancing norms, only 4 persons will be permitted to travel in a car, 5 in an SUV, 10 in a van and 25 in a bus. The maximum number of passengers in a van /bus will be half of the seating capacity).

*Keep sanitiser, use masks and maintain physical distancing throughout the journey.

*An exit and entry pass/passes shall be issued by the District Collectors to those persons who seek to go outside states to bring back their stranded child/ children, spouse and parent/s.

*Everybody including those coming from red zones shall remain under home quarantine for 14 days from the date of arrival.

*Only priority groups and persons will be allowed entry passes:

a) Those from neighbouring states seeking Medical aid in Kerala

b) Pregnant ladies with family

c) Family members including children separated due to lockdown

d) Students

e) Senior citizens with family members

f) Persons who had lost a job.

The guidelines further added that all luggage must be disinfected and temperature checks must be carried out with Infrared flash thermometer among other things.

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Agencies
June 25,2020

New Delhi, Jun 25: The Congress on Thursday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why has not India gained anything from the "strange bonhomie" which it claimed he shared with China.

Seeking to turn the tables on the ruling party, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the BJP also shared bonhomie with the Communist Party of China (CPC) with several party-level exchanges taking place in the past.

He sought to know whether India's borders have become safe after these exchanges in the last many years.

The Congress leader asked what has the country gained out of these exchange delegations and why are the borders insecure despite the bonds that the two ruling parties of India and China share with each other.

"There is a strange kind of bonhomie between Narendra Modi and China, a two decade old bonhomie. Why doesn't the country get the benefit of that bonhomie," he asked at a virtual press conference.

Khera said all that the Congress will continue to question is about the political will that just does not get visible when it comes to China.

"Whatever is happening on the border today, is it despite the bonhomie which you have with China, or is it because of the bonhomie which you have with China. The country needs to know," he asked.

"We do want to ask you, if as president of the party, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah have been sending delegations,  strengthening the bonds between the Communist Party of China and the BJP. What has the country gained out of these bonds? Why are the borders insecure despite these bonds that you have," he also asked.

The ruling has hit out at the Congress for signing an MoU with China's Communist Party and has questioned its "bond" with the ruling party in China.

Khera also asked what role did the India Foundation, an organisation run by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval's son has in strengthening the bonds with China.

"Why does India Foundation keep visiting these countries? Who do they meet? What's the outcome? What's the role of NSA Ajit Doval's son- Shaurya Doval? He keeps attending these meetings through India Foundation? These are important questions in the light of what is happening," he asked.

Khera said the prime minister is showing "red eyes" to those who are asking him questions instead of showing them to the enemy.

"It is time to stand with the Army and show red eyes to China," he said.

The Congress leader said questions will be asked to Modi especially when there are definitive reports, satellite images of incursions in the Ladakh region of India by the Chinese.

He alleged that China laps up the comment of Modi and uses it across the world that the Indian prime minister says that China is in its own territory and Galwan is theirs.

"After a lot of pressure, PMO contradicted what the prime minister said. This kind of a goof up is unpardonable," he alleged.

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