What are the two types of reservation?

  • Jul 09, 2024
What are the two types of reservation?

The Two Categories of Reservation

They are one of the features of the policies and programs that are launched by the Government of India for the benefit of the socially and economically weaker sections of the society. Reservations are useful to represent and empower development needs for the downtrodden part of society. It is advisable to point out that there are two principal kinds of reservations in India now social and economic.

Social Reservation

The social reservation means the percentage set aside for the SC/ST and OBC in jobs, admissions, and seats in the legislative assemblies. This reservation was introduced shortly after independence to address unequal societal structures that prevailed in India from the pre-colonial era due to the caste system.

The provisions for social reservation are provided under Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution of India under which the state can provide specially for the benefit of the socially and educationally backward classes. The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories are defined under Sections mentioned in the constitution in 341 and 342. The lists of Other Backward Class categories for reservation are notified by the central government.

SCs 15% and 7. 5% for STs and 27% for non-creamy layer OBC for admission in the central government-funded educational institutes and recruitment in direct entry in the government jobs. In states and private institutes, the reservation percentages mean be to different. creamy layer OBCs do not get any benefit of reservation that is available for the SCs and STs.

The underlying goal of social reservation is to improve the prospects of backward classes to challenge the position of the superior sections of society and thereby provide fair chances to the deprived sections to get better opportunities for education, employment, and legislative representation. This is done as a way of trying to eliminate the gap that has been a result of the negative effects of caste systems on certain groups of people for some time.

Economic Reservation

I would like to clarify that social reservation is all about the representation of the caste-disadvantaged groups, whereas economic reservation means a reservation for the economically backward classes or EWS without having any reference to caste. The idea of economic reservation is rooted in an understanding that besides personal reasons, economic factors also contribute to people's backwardness irrespective of their social status.

Subsequently, in January 2019, the Indian government passed a 10% quota for economically deprived upper castes for government employment and admissions in higher learning institutions. This was made possible by the implementation of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act that offers EWS of society reservation. EWS category is defined as people having an annual family income below Rs 8 lakhs and with landholding of five acres of agricultural land or less.

The 10% EWS quota is over, above, and beyond the current limit that has been set to 50% for SC, ST, and OBC categories. By this new provision, as many as 60% of the seats in government institutions can now legally be reserved for quota categories. However, state governments as well as private institutes have some degree of autonomy to adhere to their economic reservation requirements by their state and local demands.

Economic reservation is aimed at offering the poor the same chances without regard to race, origin, or color. It is a move from the consideration of only the caste factor in the provision for reserved quotas to the economically disadvantaged. Scholars argue that the integrated and simultaneous targeting of both impaired social status and low economic status will eradicate disparity. Reservation policies which are prevalent in the Indian job market and educational institutions tend to overlap with the caste and class divides.

Apart from advocating for diversity in education and employment, the concept of economic reservation is also politically valuable in that it shows that the government is also focused on the attainment of poverty alleviation policies rather than solely relying on caste-based reservation policies for inclusive development. This can have electoral implications because (resources for the upliftment of the economy) demands can be raised by both the upper castes and the economically vulnerable sections of society.

Thus, the social reservations are designed to protect the specific historically disadvantaged castes, whereas the economic reservations can be viewed as a mechanism to help the worst off economically in society Overall, the political reservations are most ambiguous in their purpose and function. The two reservation policies seek to address the multifaceted and cross-cutting social systems of untouchability and poverty that are deeply entrenched in Indian culture. When pursued in tandem, the two can certainly support each other in ensuring that the underprivileged can be reached touching on both the social injustice and social economic perspectives. Thus, the effects of the double reservation system can be summarized that the proposed approach can ultimately improve equity, diversity, and growth in the country. The relative success of their provisions will therefore depend on how they are applied on the ground in the coming years.

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