The government wants to ensure that the children of staffs serving in lower categories of PSUs and other institutions can avail the benefit of OBC category reservations, which will be at par with the children of staffs serving in lower categories of the Government.
The Central Government is planning to equalise job posts in government and public-sector undertakings (PSUs), as well as public-sector banks (PSBs) for claiming benefit of OBC reservations.
Now, all the executive-level posts, such as board-level executives and managerial-level posts in PSUs will be equivalent to group A posts in the Government and will come under the Creamy Layer.
The Government has made six categories for identification of Creamy Layer, as follows:
- Constitutional/statutory post
- Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ Officers of Central and State Governments, employees of PSUs and statutory bodies, universities
- Colonel and above in armed forces and equivalent in paramilitary forces
- Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, management consultants, engineers, and so on.
- Property owners with agricultural holdings or vacant land and /or buildings and
- Income/wealth tax assesse
This categorisation is applicable to all officers with equivalent posts in PSUs, banks, insurance organisations, universities, and so on.
Now, the junior management grade scale-1 and above of PSBs, financial institutions (FIs) and public- sector insurance corporations (PSIC) will be equivalent to Group ‘A’ in the Government of India and considered as the Creamy Layer.
In these—PSBs, FIs and PSICs— the revised income tax will be applicable now for clerks and peons.
The Government is making these changes to ensure that the children of staffs serving in lower categories of PSUs and other institutions can avail the benefit of OBC category reservations, which will be at par with the children of staffs serving in lower categories of the Government.
The income limit for OBCs has been increased from Rs Six lakh per annum to rupees eight lakh per annum considering the increase in the Consumer Price Index. Employees who have income of Rs Eight lakh per annum will not be considered Other Backward Class (OBC).
Earlier, the Government introduced a bill in the Parliament to give constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes. Also, it is considering setting up a commission to further subcategorise the OBCs, so the more backward people under the OBCs can get access to the benefits of the reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.