Patna: The Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar has implemented a new reservation policy that will provide 75% reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) and Extremely Backward Class (EBC) in educational institutions and government jobs. The policy was approved by the state Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Monday and came into effect from Tuesday, 21 November 2023.
The new policy is based on the caste census data released by the state government 50 days ago, which showed the socio-economic status of different castes in Bihar. The policy aims to ensure adequate representation and empowerment of the marginalized sections of society.
According to the new policy, the reservation quota for ST will be increased from 1% to 2%, for SC from 16% to 20%, for EBC from 18% to 25% and for OBC from 12% to 15%. The existing 10% reservation for the economically weaker section of the general category will remain unchanged.
The policy was introduced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the Reservation Amendment Bill 2023 during the winter session of the Bihar Assembly. The bill was passed unanimously by both houses of the legislature on 9 November, with the support of the main opposition party, BJP. The state cabinet also approved the bill on the same day.
The Governor also approved three other bills on Monday, namely, Bihar Secretariat Service (Amendment) Bill 2023, Bihar Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill 2023, and Bihar Appropriation Bill 2023. The government published the gazette notifications for all four bills on Tuesday, making them effective immediately.
