Justice Rohini Commission on OBCs likely to get a one-year extension

The Justice Rohini Commission on sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) - a politically loaded issue with significant implications for states like poll-bound Uttar Pradesh -- is likely to get a year-long extension, ET has learnt, its eleventh so far.

This time it may go beyond the usual six-month extensions repeatedly given by the government. The commission's current term ends on July 31.

The latest extension - on account of the Covid-19 pandemic - will however coincide with a countdown to the next assembly polls in states where its report could significantly impact the electoral fortunes of all major political parties including the ruling BJP.


Set up in 2017, it was originally asked to submit the report by March 2018. An extension would invariably postpone the sub-categorization by months and may come well after the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, slated for early next year.

The overall electoral implications of the Commission's findings make it a subject of high political sensitivity, especially in the Hindi heartland, because it is likely to change the constituency-wise voter make up and usher in new socio-political ramifications in several states.

At the core of the issue is the Commission's mandate to sub-categorise the OBCs to bring equitable distribution of the 27% OBC quota in government jobs and educational institutes among all OBC caste groups.

According to a February 2021 formula - which ET was the first to report - the Commission is working on a proposal to group the total 2,633 OBC castes in the Central List into four subcategories.

The reallocation is expected to benefit over 2,000 caste groups that have not been able to get full benefit of the OBC quota, which is seen as having been cornered by 97 influential castes in category 4.

Roughly, the sub-categories 1,2, 3 and 4 are proposed to get reservation of 2%, 6%, 9% and 10% respectively from the overall 27% OBC quota.

The reason for the sub-categorization is the current inequity.

An assessment of the implementation of the 27% OBC quota over the last five years has shown that one-fourth of the OBC quota benefit is currently being availed by 10 castes alone, while two-thirds and three-fourths are taken by 37 and 100 castes, respectively.

The remaining 2,486 castes get only a one-fourth part in the quota matrix.

The Commission's assessments indicate that even among these 2,486 castes, as many as 1,013 castes have no representation at all in the 27% quota and the remaining 972 have 2.6% representation.

Only 501 castes currently get the benefit of the quota in toto.