CONTENT
- COMMISSION TO EXAMINE SUB-CATEGORIZATION OF OBC
- NATIONAL AYUSH MISSION
COMMISSION TO EXAMINE SUB-CATEGORIZATION OF OBC
Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in News?
The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the term of the Commission to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes.
Commission for sub-categorization of OBCs
- G. Rohini Commission is constituted to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Central List.
- The commission has been established under Article 340 of Constitution.
- This is the first government-mandated exercise to quantify the skewed flow of benefits among different OBC communities and suggest steps to correct the imbalance.
- The Commission had clarified its stand on fixing OBC quotas based on current representation in reserved seats, and not on social hierarchy.
Functions of the Commission:
- The commission will examine extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among castes included in broad category of OBCs.
- It will also take up exercise of identifying respective castes/sub-castes/communities synonyms in Central List of OBCs and classify them into their respective sub-categories.
- It will work out mechanism, norms, criteria and parameters, in scientific approach, for sub-categorization within such OBCs.
History of Sub-categorization
- The First Backward Class Commission report of 1955, also known as the Kalekar report, had proposed sub-categorisation of OBCs into backward and extremely backward communities.
- In 2015, former National Commission for OBCs asked for sub-categorisation within OBCs into Extremely Backward Classes (Group A), More Backward Classes (Group B) and Backward Classes (Group C).
- Presently, ten states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Jammu, have sub-categorised OBCs.
- The criteria used by the states were various, including the ascribed status such as denotified, nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes, the religion of a community, caste status before conversion to Christianity or Islam, and perceived status socially or traditional occupation.
Importance and Need of Sub-categorisation
- Sub-categorisation of OBCs aims to ensure more equitable distribution of reservations in government jobs and educational institutions.
- Sub-categorisation is important to ensure that dominant groups among OBCs do not corner all benefits.
- Five-year data on OBC quota implementation in central jobs and higher educational institutions showed that a very small section has cornered the lion’s share.
- In the past under article 340, Mandal commission was appointed had recommended 27% reservation for socially and educationally backward classes.
- At present, there is no sub-categorisation and 27% reservation is a rigid and uniform entity.
- This Commission will address the inefficiency in preventing large sections of the creamy layer from taking advantage of the quota system to the detriment of the poorer sections among their own caste groups in the past.
Article 340
The President may by order appoint a Commission to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India, and the difficulties under which they labour. The commission is mandated to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the union or any state to remove such difficulties and as to improve their condition.
NATIONAL AYUSH MISSION
Focus: GS II – Health
Why in News?
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the continuation of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme from 01-04-2021 to 31-03-2026.
About NAM
Nodal: Ministry of AYUSH
- It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implementing through States/UTs for development and promotion of AYUSH system of medicine including Homoeopathy.
- Under NAM, Grant-in-aid is being provided to State/UT Governments for development and promotion of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) as per their proposed State Annual Action Plans (SAAPs).
Salient features of NAM
- Co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centers (PHCs), Community Health Centers (CHCs), and Districts Hospitals (DHs).
- Up-gradation of exclusive State Government AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries.
- Setting up of up to 50 bedded integrated AYUSH Hospital.
- Upgradation of State Government Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate Educational Institutions.
- Setting up of new State Government AYUSH Educational Institutions in the States where it is not available in Government Sector.
- Strengthening of State Government/State Government Co-operatives/PSUs for manufacturing of quality medicines in AYUSH Systems.
- Strengthening of State Drug Testing Laboratories
- Support for the cultivation of Medicinal Plant including processing and post-harvest management to ensure supply of quality raw material for AYUSH medicine and other products.
Components of the Mission
- AYUSH Services
- AYUSH Educational Institutions
- Quality Control of ASU &H Drugs
- Medicinal Plants
The expected outcomes of the mission are as follows:
- Better access to AYUSH healthcare services through increased healthcare facilitiesoffering AYUSH services and better availability of medicines and trained manpower,
- Improvement in AYUSH education through a well-equipped enhanced number ofAYUSH Educational institutions,
- To focus on reducing communicable/non-communicable diseases through targeted public health programmes using AYUSH systems of Healthcare.
