EWS category

Economically weaker section is a subcategory  India is a subcategory of people having an annual family income less than 8 lakh (US$10,000) and who do not belong to any category such as SC/ST/OBC across India, nor to MBC in Tamil Nadu.^. A  candidate who does not fall under SC/ST/OBC and fulfils the EWS economic criteria are to be part of the EWS category

EWS RESERVATION

•  In January 2019, the 103rd Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by the Parliament of India in which EWS quota or reservation was introduced. With the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, the Central Government introduced the 10% reserve quota for candidates from the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society for admissions and government jobs. The 10% quota is progressive and could address the issues of educational and income inequality in India since the economically weaker sections of citizens have remained excluded from attending higher educational institutions and public employment due to their financial incapacity.

Definition of EWS  quota :

• Candidate’s annual family income must be less than Rs. 8 lakhs per annum.
• Their family must not own more than 5 acres of agriculture land.
• The residential flat area should be below 1000 sq ft.
• The residential plot’s area should be below 100 square yards if in a notified municipality sector.
• The residential plot’s area should be below 200 square yards if in a non-notified municipality sector.

Significance of Economic backward classes:

• Addresses Inequality:
  • The 10% quota is progressive and could address the issues of educational and income inequality in India since the economically weaker sections of citizens have remained excluded from attending higher educational institutions and public employment due to their financial incapacity.

Recognition of the Economic Backwards:

• There are many people or classes other than backward classes who are living under hunger and poverty-stricken conditions.
• The proposed reservation through a constitutional amendment would give constitutional recognition to the poor from the upper castes.
• Reduction of Caste-Based Discrimination:
  • Moreover, it will gradually remove the stigma associated with reservation because reservation has historically been related to caste and most often the upper caste looks down upon those who come through the reservation.
• Necessary to uplift the weaker section:
• The reservation for the backward classes, and now the EWS quota, should be considered by the court as “one single approach of the state intended for the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society”.

Concerns:

Unavailability of Data:

• The Union or state governments have no such data to prove that ‘upper’ caste individuals, who have less than Rs 8 lakh annualincome, are not adequately represented in government jobs and higher educational institutions. There is a strong possibility that they are actually over-represented in these places.

Arbitrary Criteria:

• The criteria used by the government to decide the eligibility for this reservation is vague and is not based on any data or study.
• Even the SC questioned the government whether they have checked the GDP per capita for every State while deciding the monetary limit for giving the EWS reservation.
• Statistics show that the percapita income in states differs widely – Goa is the state having the highest per capita income of almost Rs. 4 lakhs whereas Bihar is at the bottom with Rs.40,000.