Bihar govt issues gazette notifications to up quota from 50 to 65 per cent

The Bihar government on Tuesday (November 21) issued gazette notifications to raise the quota for deprived castes from 50 to 65 per cent in state government jobs and educational institutions after receiving governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s consent.

The governor had sent both the bills to the state government after giving his formal assent, paving the way for implementation of the new quota percentage in state government jobs and educational institutions.

The bills are the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services Amendment Bill and the Bihar Reservation (Admission in Educational Institutions) Amendment Bill, 2023.

The bills were recently cleared by the Bihar legislature during the winter session, days after the government tabled a detailed analysis of the state's landmark caste survey report in the House.

Both the bills sought an increase in the quota for Scheduled Castes (SC) from 16 to 20 per cent, Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 1 to 2 per cent, extremely backward castes (EBCs) from 18 to 25 per cent and other backward classes (OBCs) from 15 to 18 per cent to elevate the total quantum of caste-based reservations from 50 to 65 per cent.

The total quantum of reservation in jobs and educational institutions will now stand at 75 per cent in the state, after taking into account the 10 per cent already existing quota for economically weaker sections (EWS).

(With agency inputs)