Health Ministry announces 27% for OBCs, 10% for EWS in AIQ

Twenty-seven percent of the all-India quota admissions for medical and dental courses will be reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) starting this academic year, the Union health ministry said. An additional 10% will be reserved for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS).

The reservations will be implemented in all undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses.

Key Highlights

• The decision will benefit nearly 1,500 OBC students seeking to join MBBS courses and 2,500 backward category students in postgraduate courses. It will also benefit around 550 EWS students in MBBS and around 1,000 EWS students in postgraduate courses, the health ministry said.
• The decision comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26 July directed the Union ministries concerned to decide on this issue.
• The all-India quota (AIQ) scheme was introduced in 1986 under the Supreme Court’s directions to allow merit-based opportunities to students from any state to study in a medical college in another state.
• The AIQ scheme consists of 15% of total available undergraduate seats and 50% of total available postgraduate seats in government medical colleges.
• There was no reservation in the AIQ scheme till 2007. Subsequently, the Supreme Court introduced reservations of 15% for Scheduled Castes and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes in the AIQ scheme.

SOURCE: Livemint, The Hindu

Download as PDF