Lok Sabha Question No. 4340 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: NITI Aayog Report 2014-15
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Shri Dharmendra Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4340 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26-03-2025

## NITI AAYOG REPORT 2014-15

## †4340. SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether as per the NITI Aayog Report 2014-15, 70% of the OBC population lives in rural areas as a result of which many seats reserved for OBCs in important educational institutions remained unfilled due to non-availability of qualified candidates and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether as per the NITI Aayog Report 2014-15, many vacancies reserved for OBCs in public  service  remained  unfilled  due  to  non-availability  of  candidates  with  adequate educational qualifications and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether as per the NITI Aayog Report 2014-15, the educational status of OBCs is not better than that of mainstream communities;
- (d) if so, whether the Government has plans to make a special action plan on the lines of the  Scheduled  Castes  and  Tribes  Sub-Plan  for  social,  educational  and  economic empowerment of the OBC community; and
- (e) if so, the time by which it is likely to be done?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE

## (RAO INDERJIT SINGH)

- (a) & (c) The statement in the quoted report pertains to period 10 years ago. There has been a large improvement  in  the  enrolment  of  Other  Backward  Classes  (OBCs)  in  higher  education institutions. As per the data available from the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), the enrolment of OBCs has increased continuously, as shown below:

| Year          | 2016-17     | 2018-19     | 2020-21     | 2021-22     |
|---------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| OBC enrolment | 1,22,99,309 | 1,35,91,994 | 1,48,21,537 | 1,63,36,460 |

- (b) The statement in the quoted report pertains to period 10 years ago.  Occurrence and filling of vacancies, including the backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process. Instructions have been  issued  to  all  Ministries/Departments  of  the  Central  Government  by  the  Department  of Personnel  and  Training  to  constitute  an  in-house  committee  for  identification  of  backlog reserved vacancies, to study the root cause of such vacancies, to initiate measures to remove the factors causing such vacancies and to fill them up including through special recruitment drives. As per the data furnished by the Ministries/ Departments, more than 4 lakh backlog reserved vacancies, including 1.55 lakh backlog reserved vacancies of OBCs, have been filled up since 2016. Further, the representation of OBCs in direct recruitment made by the Government has also consistently been more than 27% during the last 10 years.
- (d)  &  (e)  No  proposal  is  under  consideration.  However,  the  Government  has  taken  several initiatives for social, educational and economic empowerment of the OBC community, through the following schemes:
- (i) In  matter  of  direct  recruitment  to  Central  Government  jobs  and  in  admission  to Central  Government  educational  institutions,27%  reservation  is  available  to  the OBCs.
- (ii) Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBCs - for students of classes I to X.
- (iii) Post-Matric Scholarship for OBC students - for students of classes XI and XII.
- (iv) Scholarships  for  Higher  Education  for  Young  Achievers  Scheme  (SHREYAS) (OBC & Others)
- (v) PM  Young  Achievers Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India  (PMYASASVI)
- (vi) National Fellowship for OBCs
- (vii) Construction of Hostels for OBC Boys and Girls
- (viii) Assistance for Skill Development of OBCs/DNTs/EBCs
- (ix) Launch of Venture Capital Fund for OBCs.
- (x) Low  Interest  Loan/Finance  Assistance  Schemes  of  National  Backward  Classes Finance & Development Corporation (NBCFDC) for OBCs.

In  addition  to  the  above  schemes,  the  Government  has  been  implementing  several  schemes where  saturation  approach  has  been  adopted,  which  also  benefits  OBC  communities.  These include  the  Har  Ghar  Jal  Yojana,  PM  Awas  Yojana,  Mission  Indradhanush,  PM  Ujjwala Yojana, PM Jan Arogya Yojana, PM SVANidhi, PM Matru Vandana Yojana, PM Vishvakarma Yojana, PM Mudra Yojana, PM Poshan Yojana and Kisan Credit Cards Scheme, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana -National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Deendayal Antyodaya  Yojana-  National  Urban  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NULM),    Deen  Dayal Upadhayay  -  Gramin  Kaushalya  Yojana  (DDU-GKY),  Rural  Self  Employment  Training Institutes (RSETIs), Mahatma  Gandhi National Rural Employment  Guarantee  Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojna, etc.

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