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(a) Whether the Government has provided adequate job opportunities to the persons belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the various Departments under the Ministry;
(b) if so, the details thereof ;
(c) Whether the OBC staff strength is far less than what it should be in comparison to the total strength, particularly in Groups A and B;
(d) if so, the reasons therefor; and
(e) the remedial measures taken by the Government to provide adequate representation to OBC?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DIGVIJAY SINGH)
(a) & (b) Yes. The Government regulations on reservation of posts for Other Backward Classes(OBCs) provide that 27 per cent of the vacancies in civil services and posts to be filled through direct recruitment shall be reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Moreover, Candidates belonging to OBCs recruited on the basis of merit in an open competition on the same standards prescribed for the general candidates shall not be adjusted against the reservation quota. The Government has been providing reservation for the OBCs in all grades where there is an element of direct recruitment.
The details in respect of Ministry of External Affairs Secretariat (MEA), Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Central Passport Organisation (CPO), since 1995 when the reservation for OBCs was introduced, are as under:
MEA Secretariat
Group Number of OBCs recruited
A 35 B 60 C 42 D 22 Total 159
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
Central Passport Organisation (CPO)
Group # Number of OBCs recruited ##
C 112 D 11
Total 223
(# There is no direct recruitment in Group A and B level posts in CPO, and hence the number of OBCs recruited in Group A and B is Nil.)
(## Since 1995 when the reservation for OBCs was introduced)
Group Percentage of posts filled by OBC Category (as against the prescribed limit of 27%)
A 29% B 28.7%