The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of National Commission for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (NCSEBC) as a constitutional body. The new panel will replace National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) that looks into inclusion or exclusion of other backward castes for quotas, among other issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and approved amending the Constitution and inserting Article 338B for setting up the new commission. The Bill will be introduced in the Parliament. The new Commission will have a chairperson, a vice chairperson and three other members. By making the new panel a constitutional body, the advice of the panel shall ordinarily be binding upon the Centre. The cabinet's decision comes in wake of of the ongoing demand by the Jat community for their inclusion in the list of Backward classes. The frequent demands were also raised in Parliament for grant of constitutional status to the NCBC so that it could hear the grievances of OBCs on the lines of the National Commission for Scheduled and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
"The Commission shall examine requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backward class in the lists and hear complaints of over-inclusion or under-inclusion of any backward class in such lists and tender such advice to the Central Government as it deems appropriate," said officials.
As per current practice, the decision to include a community in the central OBC list rests with the government. The amendment now makes Parliament's approval mandatory for any such inclusion.
Set up in 1993, the NCBC was entrusted with examining requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backward class in the lists and hear complaints of over-inclusion or under-inclusion of any backward class in such lists and advice central government on the matter.