Reservations for OBC

• OBS, or other backward classes, are socially and economically backward communities in India.
• They are entitled to reservations in govt jobs and some educational institutions.
• Unlike SCs and STs, not all OBC persons are eligible for reservations but only a special qualified for reservations.
• As most of the OBC community themselves are not totally aware of the destination and criteria and non-creamy layer in this article, we have come up to clear off your chaotic clouds.

OBCs and the benefits they acquire under this category.

• As mentioned above, OBCs are communities recognized as an economically and socially backward set of society, They were given reservation-facilitating access to seats in govt. jobs, educational institutions, and even legislatures.
• This reservation system is provided facilitated by government policies and backed by the Constitution.
• A candidate belonging to the OBC category gets a 27% reservation quota in govt. jobs (including UPSC ), Govt. institutions (like IIMs & IITs).
• They are even given age relaxation in upper age limit for various govt. exams like UPSC, thereby increasing their maximum number of attempts.

EXAMPLE: An OC candidates upper age limit for writing UPSC exam is 32 years but for a reservation eligible OBC candidates upper age limit is 35 years.

• They are even relaxed with respect to cut-off marks as well.

Are the Reservation benefits of OBCs applied to all of them?

• The answer to this is “NO”
• Only those candidates belonging to a sub-section in OBCs named “Non-Creamy Layer” are eligible for reservation but those candidates falling under the category called “Creamy Layer” in OBCs are not qualified for reservation.
• These distinctions in OBCs are made based on the annual income of the candidates parents, their category/cadre of job in case if the parents are government employees.

What is Creamy Layer in OBC category?

• Actually, on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission, the central govt. in the office of memorandum reserved 27% posts in central govt services for OBCs.
• This order was challenged by Indra Sawhney in Indra Sawhney and Other vs. govt of India in the Supreme Court in 1992.
• In this case the Apek court upheld the central govt decision of providing 27% reservations in govt jobs but on the condition that creamy layer of OBCs should be exempted from this quote.

Creamy Layer in OBCs: Who comes under this?

• The Creamy Layer category of candidates in OBCs is based on the financial status of their parents.

Criteria for determining an applicant as a creamy layer in OBC

• Under central government jobs, if the parents of a candidate are selected for class I service as a class I officer through direct recruitment before attaining 40 years of age.
• If both the parents of the applicants joined the govt service as class II officers through direct recruitment before the age of 40
• The annual income of the candidate’s parents annual income should be more than 8 lakhs.
• Here, it’s not the annual salary but the cadre of the candidates parents is taken into note.

What is the Non-Creamy Layer, Who falls under this in OBCs?

• Expert the above mentioned category of employees, the rest of employees children are included under non-creamy layer.
• The applicant parents should not be directly recruited as class – I (Group A) or class – II (Group-B) Officers.
• The candidates parents should not hold any constitutional posts like president, vice president, governor etc.
• In case if the applicant parents are not any govt. employees, their annual income should be within the limits set by the govt.
• If a candidate is under the umbrella of the above mentioned conditions HE/SHE comes under Non-Creamy Layer of OBCs, eligible for reservation

Role of Income in categorising candidates as Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer OBCs

• The role of income is mentioned separately in this article because here, the income status of the applicant’s parents and their salary, not agriculture income.
• All those candidates whose parents’ annual income is less than 8 lakhs per year are considered Non-Creamy Layer OBCs.
• Here, salary and agricultural income are not taken for calculating annual income, but the candidate’s parents employment
• To be clear income from other sources other than salary and agriculture exceeds the income limits then the person falls under creamy layer status.

Who issues the OBC Non-Creamy Layer Certificates?

• Tahsildar of the concerned states issues this non-creamy layer certificate.
• Whereas the procedure changes from state to state.
• Below are the links for the application forms and certificates

Validity of OBC Non-Creamy Layer Certificate

• Non-Creamy Layer certificate is issued to the candidates whose income limit is decided on the basis of the income earned during three previous financial years preceding the year of appointment.
• For e.g., A non-creamy layer certificate issued for the financial year 2023-24 in any month considering the income status of the preceding 3 years, i.e., 2022-23,2021-22,2020-21 will be valued for any appointments and recruitment throughout the period of how April 2023 to march 2024
• During the home appointment, the appointing authorities will accept the self-attested photocopy of the non-creamy layer certificate subject to the verification of original non-creamy layer OBC certificate.
• In case of UPSC, the candidates are expected to produce certificates dated not later than the closing date of the application for the preliminary exam.

Eg: Candidate should produce OBC Non-creamy layer certificate for the FY 2021-22, 2022-23,2023-24 issues on later April 1 2024, but not later than 11th  February 2025.

• While the OBC status of a candidate changes only where the concerned community of a particular candidate changes but the creamy layer status is not so but can change at any time. Hence, there is not any fixed validity period for OBC non-creamy layer certificate.
• Hence mostly the validity period of OBC NCL certificate is determined as “One Year” better to check its date of issuance and validity before applying for UPSC.

Is the candidate’s own income also considered in determining non-creamy layer status?

• The answer is “No”, as here only the applicant’s parent’s income is considered but not the candidate’s income.
• Neither the candidate’s spouse’s income is also not taken into account, but only the parent’s income is calculated.

Some Important points to be noted:

1. OBC reservation eligibility is entirely different from the reservations of SCs, STs, and EWS reservations.
2. If a candidate’s parents are earning more than 8 lakhs per annum belonging to OBC but belong to Group-B officers, then the candidate comes under the non-creamy layer only.
3. Simply, the only candidates whose parents belong to Group-A & Group-B services alone fall into the creamy layer status of OBC.

• However, regarding parents under private employment or business, annual income is the main criterion.
• Candidates are advised to check their parent’s income for the last 3 consecutive years and if it is less than 8 lakhs rupees in any one of the last year then they are qualified for non-creamy layer OBC status.
• If a candidate’s parents belonging to Class II or Group B services get into Group A or Class I services after 40 years of age, then he/she is considered as non-creamy layer and eligible for reservation.
• In PSVs all executive level posts, board- level executive and managerial-level posts are equivalent to Group A post in govt. and are considered as creamy layer.
• Junior Management grade scale-I and above as public sector banks, financial institutions, public sectors, Insurance corporations are above treated as equal to Group A services and this does not any reservation under OBC

Documents Required for OBC Creamy Layer Certificate

You are required to attach these certificates and document while applying for the OBC certificate:

• Community certificate.
• School Leaving Certificate.
• Ration Card.
• Income Certificate