Govt constitutes panel to revisit criteria for determining EWS

• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formed a three-member committee to review the criteria for reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category in terms of the provisions of the explanation to Article 15 of the Constitution.
• The committee has been asked to complete its work within three weeks. Former Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey will head the committee.

What will the panel do?

• The panel will review the criteria determining the EWS category.
• It will examine approaches followed in identifying EWS category.
• It will analyse and recommend a new criteria to identify the EWS in the country.

Why was the panel constituted?

• The panel was formed following the Supreme Court query to the Government of India. The SC asked “On what rationale, the central government is fixing the quota eligibility at Rs 8 lakh?” For person to be labelled under OBC (Other Backward Caste), his income limit should be less than Rs 8 lakh per annum. This was questioned by the Supreme Court.