OBC, EWS reservation in AIQ MBBS, BDS, PG Medical admissions: PM Modi directs ministries to resolve issue on priority

New Delhi: Reviewing the situation of OBC and EWS reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) for MBBS, BDS and PG medical seats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the concerned ministries to resolve the matter on priority.

 It has been a long-standing demand from medical aspirants to give Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations in the all-India quota of medical education. Several litigations have also been made in various courts of the country but the issue has been pending for a long time including the state of Tamil Nadu and UT Puducherry.

Recently, the Centre had informed the Madras High Court that it is on the verge of taking a decision on the implementation of OBC reservation in State-surrendered medical seats for the All India Quota (AIQ) in non-central medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.

Now, during a review meeting held on Monday attended by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, secretaries of education, health and family welfare, law and justice, and social welfare as well as other senior officials, the issue about the two quotas were discussed, the sources informed PTI.

In the meeting, the PM desired that the issue of OBC reservation in the AIQ of medical education may be resolved by the ministries concerned on priority, a source said.

The AIQ seats in medicine were created on the directions of the Supreme Court in 1984. All states were required to surrender 15 per cent undergraduate and 50 per cent postgraduate medical and dental seats in state-run colleges to a 'central pool' with the rest going to a 'state pool'. The quota is filled through the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in medical education institutions in states and union territories (UTs).

The 'central pool' is the All India Quota (AIQ) and students across the country are eligible to apply for admission to this. The apex court had earlier ruled that the state reservation policy will apply to state seats and the AIQ seats as well.

In total 15 per cent of undergraduate and 50 per cent of postgraduate seats of state government medical colleges are earmarked as all India quota. For admission, SC and ST aspirants have reservations in this quota, but there is no reservation for OBCs. Under the existing framework, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), have got reservation benefits under the AIQ — 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively in AIQ.

According to sources' statement to PTI, the PM also asked the Health Ministry to review the position of implementation of EWS reservation by various states for medical education.

In 2019, the central government had announced 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and higher education for economically weaker sections in the general category.

According to the reply to a written question in Parliament, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had increased the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) reservation quota in medical colleges to 5,200 MBBS seats.

'These seats have been increased in State Government's Colleges, State Government aided Society run Colleges, Municipal Corporation's Colleges and Colleges set up on Private Public Mode (PPP mode) for the academic session 2019-20,' former Minister of State for Health Ashwinin Kumar Choubey had said.

Also Read:OBC quota for AIQ medical admissions: Centre to soon roll out decision