social justice ministry

Direct Recruitment to Government Posts Halved Between 2014 and 2021

Data submitted in the Rajya Sabha also revealed that the representation of persons from SC, ST and OBC communities declined in the first seven years of the Modi government.

New Delhi: Total government appointments made through direct recruitment has more than halved during the first seven years of the Narendra Modi government, data submitted in the Rajya Sabha revealed.

The data also showed that the representation of persons from Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories through direct recruitment and promotion has declined over these seven years.

Pattali Makkal Katchi MP and former Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss asked if the OBCs were inadequately represented (made up for less than 27% of posts) in appointments to the Union government between 2014 and 2021.

In response, the minister of state for social justice and empowerment A. Narayanaswamy provided information about the representation of persons from SC, ST and OBC communities based on the information uploaded by the ministries and departments on the Representation of Reserved Categories in Posts and Services in GoI (RRCPS) portal.

Citing the data, the minister said that the representation of OBCs against the total appointments made through direct recruitment has been “consistently above” 27% between 2014-21. The enrolment of OBCs in Higher Education Institutions has been “consistently increasing” since 2014-15, he added.

Direct recruitment more than halved

However, a look at the data on appointments also revealed that when it came to direct recruitment, there had been a sharp fall in overall appointments between 2014 and 2021. The total appointments through direct recruitment more than halved from 1,28,629 in 2014 to 64,073 in 2021. The number of appointments in the SC category dropped from 21,673 in 2014 to 10,200 in 2021. Similarly, the appointments in the ST category fell from 10,843 to 4,573 and those in the OBC category from 40,513 to 19,660 in these seven years.

The data also revealed that during this period, “appointments made through promotion” fell from 1,73,363 in 2014 to 1,40,908 in 2021. The total appointments made through both these modes also declined by nearly a third from 3,01,992 to 2,04,981 in the seven years.

Also Read: Forget Tokenism, We Need Proper Representation of the Marginalised in Government, Academia, Media

SC, ST appointments through promotions dropped sharply

In the case of SC and ST appointments, the data showed that there was also a marked drop in the number of appointments made through promotions. Under the SC category, this number came down from 32,599 in 2014 to 24,794 in 2021 while for the ST category it dropped from 14,112 in 2014 to 10,938 in 2021.

Overall, when it came to the representation of SC persons against the total appointments made through both direct recruitment and promotion, the representation dropped from 17.97% in 2014 to 17.07% in 2021. Likewise, the representation of persons from ST communities declined from 8.26% in 2014 to 7.57% in 2021.

With regard to the representation of OBCs against total appointments, the data indicated a decline from 31.50% in 2014 to 30.68% in 2021. Barring 2020, when this representation dropped below the 30% mark to touch 29.21%, in all other years it stayed above that level.

Enrolments in higher education institutions rose

Ramadoss also asked about the enrolment of persons from OBC communities in central educational institutions. The minister said that data provided by the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) showed that the enrolment of students from SC communities has increased by 28% during the seven-year period as it went up from 46,06,666 in 2014-15 to 58,94,700 in 2020-21. For the ST category, the enrolment increased by 47%, as the absolute numbers went up from 16,40,809 in 2014-15 to 24,12,069 in 2020-21. And in the OBC category, the increase was 31.7% as the numbers rose from 1,12,56,849 in 2014-15 to 1,48,21,537 in 2020-21.

The data also showed that a lot more women from SC, ST and OBC communities were enrolling in higher education institutes.

Union Government Constitutes Panel To Revisit Criteria To Determine EWS Category

The committee members are former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, V.K. Malhotra and principal economic advisor to the government Sanjay Sanyal.

New Delhi: The Union government has constituted a three-member committee to revisit the criteria to determine the economically weaker sections (EWS) for reservation in employment and education, headed by former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

The government had informed the Supreme Court last week that it has taken a considered decision to revisit the criteria. The move came after the top court grilled the government on how it had arrived at Rs 8 lakh annual income as the limit for inclusion in the EWS category, saying numbers cannot be pulled out of thin air and must be based on scientific methods.

The court was hearing a challenge to the Union government’s notification granting 27% reservation for the other backward classes (OBCs) and 10% for the EWS category in post-graduate medical courses.

According to news agency PTI, the social justice and empowerment ministry issued an official memorandum on Tuesday constituting the committee in accordance with the commitment given to the Supreme Court to revisit the criteria for determining the economically weaker sections (EWS) in terms of the provisions of the explanation to Article 15 of the constitution.

The committee will revisit the criterion to determine the EWS category keeping in view the observations of the Supreme Court. It will also examine various approaches so far followed in the country for identifying economically weaker sections and recommend criteria that may be adopted for identifying the EWS category in future, the memorandum said.

The committee members are former finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, member secretary of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) V.K. Malhotra and principal economic advisor to the government Sanjay Sanyal.

The committee has been asked to complete its work within three weeks. The government had informed the top court that it would require four weeks to complete the exercise. Accordingly, counselling for PG-NEET, the post-graduate medical course entrance exam, was postponed by four weeks.

(With PTI inputs)

Take ‘Extraordinary Steps’ Aimed at Data Creation: CIC Tells Social Justice Ministry

The ministry’s website should be a centralised resource centre from where members of the public can access all necessary information related to persons with disabilities, the commission said.

New Delhi: The Central Information Commission has directed the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to “take certain extraordinary steps aimed at data creation” and to make its website a centralised resource centre from where members of the public may be able to access all necessary information. It has also asked the chief public information officer (CPIO) of the ministry to put the issue before the “competent authority” to ensure that such data is also updated on a month-to-month basis.

The order from central information commissioner Saroj Punhani, passed on May 31, came on an appeal filed with the commission by L. Muruganantham, who had sought information on 15 broad points from the ministry in March 2019 on issues pertaining to persons with disabilities (PwDs). Not happy with the CPIO’s reply and the First Appellate Authority’s upholding of that reply, he approached the Commission with his second appeal.

During the hearing, Muruganantham said he was not satisfied with the CPIO’s claim that no separate census data is maintained for the categories of information mentioned in his RTI application related to PwDs.

He pointed out that the Supreme Court had in the case of People’s Union for Civil Liberties vs Union of India and Another (1997), held that the Ministry Of Social Justice And Empowerment, Department Of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities of Government of India and its PIOs have the constitutional and statutory obligation to maintain all the information sought in the RTI application along with other information and also provide information in all the modes and means of commutation for PwDs.

Ministry said UDID would create a national database for PwDs

The CPIO of the ministry submitted that based on the availability of records at the time, the appellant was provided category wise and state wise data regarding PwDs. He further submitted that the process of incorporating the segregated data on autism and specific learning disabilities was ongoing as a part of the “Unique Disability ID” or “UDID” initiative.

He said this initiative was being implemented with the view to create a national database for PwDs and to issue a Unique Disability Identity Card to each PwD. Further, the CPIO said whatever statistics were made available by various states at the relevant time had been provided to the appellant.

‘Data for UDID accessible only to select officials’

To a query from the Commission regarding the availability of this segregated data on the ministry’s website, the CPIO submitted that since the data collected for the UDID was extremely dynamic, at present it can be only accessed by specific public officials who have the right of access to the ministry’s portal.

However, in response to a suggestion from the Commission, the CPIO conceded that a monthly update on the data can be made available for access to the general public. Further, the CPIO said that data on crimes/offences, education, marital status and other information related to PwDs sought in the application was not maintained by the ministry. For these points, the RTI application was transferred to the public authorities concerned, the CPIO said.

In its order, the Commission observed that Muruganantham’s case was “extensively reflective of the larger public interest of the persons with disabilities and his particular reference to the Article 31 of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities succinctly captures the essence of the information sought for in the instant RTI application”.

Commissioner Punhani also marked a copy of the order to the secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, to expeditiously look into the serious concerns raised by the appellant and take note of the Commission’s advisory.

It asked the ministry to provide the information directed by the Commission to the appellant free of cost, within 45 days from the date of receipt of the order.

Mob Lynchings: Ministry Panel Considers IPC Amendments, Central Relief Fund

In accordance with a Supreme Court mandate, the Modi government on July 23 had instituted a high-level committee to ‘deliberate’ separate penal provisions to rein in mob violence.

New Delhi: A Central government sponsored draft report on lynching has reportedly suggested amendments to the Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure to strengthen police action against violent mobs and crimes committed by them. In accordance with a Supreme Court mandate, the Narendra Modi government on July 23 had instituted a high-level committee headed by union home secretary Rajiv Gauba, which was entrusted with the task to “deliberate” and “make recommendations” for separate penal provisions to rein in mob violence.

The committee is scheduled to submit its suggestions to the home ministry tomorrow.

According to media reports, the draft includes suggested amendments to the IPC and CrPC, like strengthening the police in taking action against those involved in mob violence, making such crimes crime non-bailable, fast-tracking trial in such cases through special courts, and providing compensation to the victims from a central fund.

Rajiv Gauba. Credit: Twitter/@Secretary_MoUD

The three-member informal group carrying out initial deliberations with the Gauba-led committee comprised of Union home ministry joint secretaries S.C.L. Das and Praveen Vashisth, and director general, Narcotics Control Bureau, Abhay. It held talks with police in several states which have reported maximum number of lynching cases, including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Other authorities handling law and order have also been consulted in this process.

The group has reportedly also addressed the necessity of a separate law, dubbed informally as Maanav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA), specifically to deal with mob violence.

It is believed that the Gauba committee will take inputs from other stakeholders and then take a final call on the draft report within a couple of days. The committee includes secretaries of the departments of justice, legal affairs, legislative department, and social justice and empowerment. Additionally, the group held talks with Congress leader Tehseen Poonawala, who previously petitioned the Supreme Court with others to seek action against cow protection groups.

It was in response to these petitions that the Supreme Court requested parliament to create a separate law expressly to deter such crimes.

The Wire reached out to senior advocate Rebecca John for a comment on the committee. “The most important consideration is whether there is any positive intent behind this committee, or whether it is simply a means to airbrush the matter at hand. What is lacking is intent and determination on part of the police and the administration to go after these crimes. If this sub-committee wishes to encourage the government to take concrete action, I have absolutely no problem with it. But my larger contribution is this: is the government serious about this?” she asked.

Once the home ministry report is finalised, it will be placed before a group of ministers headed by home minister Rajnath Singh, including external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, road and transport minister Nitin Gadkari, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, and social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.

In turn, this group will submit its report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.