New Delhi, April 20: The Central Government on Sunday asked all government-aided higher educational institutions, which include IITs, IIMs and central universities, to implement the 27 per cent OBC quota law from the upcoming academic session. This follows the approval by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs which decided to implement the quota law after excluding the creamy layer among OBCs.

In a directive issued by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on Sunday, after making reference to the apex court’s recent ruling, the ministry said “all central educational Institutions (CEIs) other than those mentioned in the Schedule of the CEI Act, have to implement the policy of reservation of 27 per cent seats for the OBCs apart from 15 per cent seats for the SCs and 7.5 per cent for the STs from the academic session commencing this year, in accordance with the phasing of the expansion of capacity necessitated in order to ensure that the seats available in the unreserved category are not reduced”.

In that regard, the HRD has issued following directions:

• The policy of reservation for the OBCs under the CEI Act is to be implemented from the forthcoming academic session itself

• This is applicable to all CEIs, exceptions being only those institutions of excellence, research institutions of national and strategic importance specified in the Schedule to the CEI Act

• The policy of reservation for the OBCs/ SCs & STs would be applicable to all programmes/courses of study at the undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate levels except courses or programmes at high levels of specialisation, including at the post-doctoral level, within any branch of study which the Central Government in consultation with the appropriate statutory authority may decide

• The reservation for OBCs and SCs/STs under the CEI Act shall not apply to minority educational institutions

• Each CEI shall ensure that from among candidates belonging to the OBCs applying for admission against the seats reserved for the OBC category, information is collected from the candidates for exercising due diligence, so that no candidate belonging to the “creamy layer” is given the benefit of reservation for the OBCs

• That the Government is taking steps to ensure that CEIs are not put to difficulties in phasing of admissions under Section 6 of the Act, due to the deferment of reservation in admissions from the academic session in calendar year 2007

• In order to identify and exclude candidates belonging to the “creamy layer” the criteria of exclusion/rules of exclusion described in the order of March 2004 of the personnel department will be applicable. Added to this, the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes/OBCs who are eligible for availing the benefits of reservation are to be ascertained from the Central lists of SEBCs/OBCs

• Each CEI is authorised to fix cut-off marks for admission/selection through admission test for OBC candidates with such differential from the cut-off marks for the unreserved category for maintaining the standards of education and at the same time ensuring that sufficient number of eligible OBC candidates are available

Added to these, the ministry also specifies that “CEIs may also bear in mind that there may be a proportionate increase in the seats for the categories of SCs and STs also, where the extant procedure of selection or cut-off marks for these categories shall continue to be in force”.