Lok Sabha Question No. 4536 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Report of NITI Aayog 2014-15
Ministry: PLANNING
Asked by: Shri Dharmendra Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF PLANNING

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4536 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025

## REPORT OF NITI AAYOG 2014-15

## †4536. SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

Will the Minister of PLANNING be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  as  per  the  2014-15  report  of  NITI  Aayog,  70  per  cent  of  OBC  population lives in rural areas as a result of which many seats reserved for OBCs in important educational  institutions  could  not  be  filled  up  due  to  non-availability  of  deserving candidates and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether as per the said report, a number of vacancies reserved for OBCs in public services  could  not  be  filled  up  due  to  non-availability  of  candidates  with  adequate educational qualifications and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) whether as per 2014-15 report of NITI Aayog, the educational status of and OBCs is not  better  than  that  of  mainstream  communities  and  if  so,  whether  the  Government proposes to initiate a special action plan on the lines of SC and ST sub-plan for socioeducational and economic empowerment of OBCs?

## 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.

| 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 |

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 the 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 (PM-YASASVI)

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.

- (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.

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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