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Saturday, May 8, 2010

[ZESTCaste] Yadav trio forces Govt to consider caste census

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/yadav-trio-forces-govt-to-consider-caste-census/114831-37-64.html

Yadav trio forces Govt to consider caste census
Sumit Pande, CNN-IBN

Posted on May 07, 2010 at 23:55 | Updated May 08, 2010 at 00:01

New Delhi: India may now have it's first caste based data in a census
after 1931 after the Government on Friday indicated that it's bowing
to pressure from the OBC lobby. But the Government insisted that there
could be practical problems in getting caste-based data in the 2011
census.

After successfully stalling the Women's Reservation Bill, the Yadav
trio of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav are
extracting another promise from the Government- to count the backward
classes as well during the ongoing decennial census after MPs cutting
across party lines pressed for enumeration on caste lines in the Lok
Sabha on Friday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised to look into the demand.

"We will take the view of the House into consideration before
proceeding on the issue. The Cabinet will take the call," said Singh.

Census in India is conducted by an Act of Parliament and the data
collected forms the basis for the formulation of various welfare
schemes. It is also the benchmark for deciding the quantum of
reservations for various backward communities.

The decennial census since Independence has enumerated population only
under three categories - schedule castes, schedule tribe and the other
class. But now a separate other backward caste or OBC category is
likely to be included.

The enumerators though may not be asked to list specific caste of a
citizen like Brahmin, Rajput etc.

With Government conceding to their demand, the OBC leadership was
effusive in their praise for the Prime Minister to the extent that
they allowed introduction of the contentious Nuclear Liability Bill in
the Lok Sabha.

"We are grateful to the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House,"
said JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.

"We thank the Prime Minister and all the people who have demanded it,"
said Mulayam.

It's an issue over which major differences have existed even within
the Government. The final decision though will be taken by the Union
Cabinet.

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[ZESTCaste] SC seal on UPSC quota rule

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100508/jsp/nation/story_12425487.jsp

SC seal on UPSC quota rule

OUR LEGAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, May 7: The Supreme Court today upheld a UPSC rule that
allows reserved category civil service candidates on the merit list —
those who don't avail of the quotas — to migrate to the reserved pool
to get a better service cadre.

Several candidates who had cleared the test on the basis of quotas had
challenged the 2004 rule, saying it hurt their standing. Others had
objected to the UPSC giving them at the time of service selection an
option given up in the exam.

A five-judge bench headed by outgoing Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan
set aside a Madras High Court ruling striking down the provision and
upheld its validity. The rule had governed recruitment from 2005 to
2007.

The UPSC conducts an all India test every year to make recruitment to
the three All-India Services (IAS, IFS, IPS), fifteen Group 'A'
Services and three Group 'B' officers in various government
departments.

Under the rule, candidates belonging to the SCs, STs or OBCs may be
adjusted at time of service allocation against reserved vacancies by
the government if they get a service of higher choice in the order of
preference. This was done by the UPSC to maintain inter se merit
between reserved category candidates.

In the absence of such an arrangement, those reserved category
students who did not exercise the option of availing the concession
would get inferior cadres than those who had taken the benefit.

A few OBC candidates had filed applications before the Central
Administrative Tribunal, Madras, challenging the option, introduced
through an amendment by the UPSC. They contended that such migration
had knocked them out of the list.

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[ZESTCaste] State UPSC topper had failed his exam twice

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/State-UPSC-topper-had-failed-his-exam-twice/articleshow/5904849.cms

State UPSC topper had failed his exam twice
Hemali Chhapia, TNN, May 8, 2010, 01.45am IST

MUMBAI: May 23 was probably more important for 25-year-old Anay
Dwivedi than Tuesday the 6th when the UPSC results were declared. For,
towards the end of this month, the Nepean Sea Road resident was ready
to take the civil service exam yet again — this would be his fourth
shot at the gruelling test. But as John Lennon would have said, life
is what happens while we are busy making other plans.

"I filled the form for the fourth attempt and was all set to take the
prelims. As twice before, I qualified in the written exam but was not
selected after the interview. After my engineering, I took my Common
Admission Test too and was shortlisted for the interview round. But
ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to be a civil servant like
my dad. Everything else was a back-up plan," said this elated
all-India rank five, which also makes him the Maharashtra topper.

Friends nudged him to take up a job "and stop wasting time" after his
engineering at Sardar Patel Engineering College. "But this is what I
wanted; so I studied, studied and studied all day long." To get
additional help in excelling in his subjects — psychology and public
administration — Anay went to Delhi and signed himself under two
private tutors. This time during his interview, Anay tackled questions
with deft — from views on China and Afghanistan to farmers' suicide
and Bt cotton.

According to statistics from the State Institute for Administrative
Careers, Maharashtra saw 75 students selected from 875 candidates who
took the Union Public Service Commission exam. "We are again
witnessing more selections from our state," said SIAC director S G
Gupta. Purna Dharmadhikari, head, Chanakya Mandal, an institute that
coaches students for the UPSC, said that in 1986, he was the only one
from Maharashtra to clear the exam. "But now, there are many more
candidates taking the UPSC. Also, the study material is now available
in marathi, allowing a larger section of candidates to appear for the
test."

Maharashtra has two rankers in the top-25 slot. At all-India rank 23,
stands Rajiv Raushan (30); he took history and Sanskrit as his
optional subjects. Nashik's Nitin Yeola, at rank 106 is third in the
state.

Following him is Prerna Deshbhratar, rank 113, who also always wanted
to be an IAS officer. She had taken the UPSC earlier, but had been
selected for IRS. Despite being posted in Faridabad, Prerna did not
give up her desire to pursue an IAS, so she sat for it again "This is
a highly competitive exam and you can't predict your performance, but
it feels real good to have finally made it," said the 27-year-old
daughter of an IPS officer. IPS was Prerna's second option, but the
work profile for administrative services interests her the most.

Thirty-two-year-old Chhaya Burudekar, an OBC candidate, from
Jogeshwari, stood 265th in the all-India list, but she is not happy
with her performance, and will be taking the UPSC exam again this
year. "I'll probably end up getting into the Indian Police Service,
but I want to take up IAS. So I'll be taking the exam again," she
said. Burudekar who has a seven-year-old daughter now has been taking
the UPSC exam since the last three years and next time, will be her
last attempt. Her parents, who have not had the opportunity to even
complete their schooling, said they were extremely proud of their
daughter.

hemali.chhapia@timesgroup.com

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[ZESTCaste] Caste could torpedo count

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Caste-could-torpedo-count/Article1-540807.aspx

Caste could torpedo count
Aloke Tikku, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, May 08, 2010
First Published: 00:41 IST(8/5/2010)
Last Updated: 00:45 IST(8/5/2010)

If the 2011 census includes a question on caste, prominent OBC leaders
in Parliament can pat their backs for succeeding where even the
National Advisory Council headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi
failed five years ago.

The NAC had raised the issue of a caste-based census in April 2005.
But it did not persist after India's census commissioner emphasised
that the caste census was not only very difficult due to the
complexities involved but could also jeopardise the integrity of the
population count.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram told the Lok Sabha on Friday that the
ministry of social justice had pushed for incorporating a question on
caste for the 2001 census. The NDA government, however, also decided
against it on the advice of the then census commissioner.

"The operational difficulties involved are far too many and we
apprehend that if it is insisted upon, they may jeopardise the
integrity of the population count per se," an internal note sent by
the census commissioner's office to the home ministry said.

There are fears that inclusion of caste would prompt people to project
higher numbers and put the neutrality of enumerators under severe
stress.

Besides, there are practical difficulties. For one, census enumerators
in 2001 — tasked to put a number to the 1,885 Scheduled Caste and
Scheduled Tribes — ended up with more than 18,000 entries. Many of
these were surnames, clan names and even names of non-SC/ST
communities. "Classifying and grouping them under the appropriate
SC/ST category was a huge task," a source said.

"Now imagine what will happen if we have to deal with nearly 6,000
castes, sub-castes, sub-groups and synonyms," a senior government
asked.

"We will end up with names of nearly 1 lakh castes and sub-castes as
people use their clan, other caste names and surnames
interchangeably," he said.

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[ZESTCaste] SC upholds UPSC ban on double reservation benefit

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-upholds-UPSC-ban-on-double-reservation-benefit/articleshow/5905223.cms

SC upholds UPSC ban on double reservation benefit
TNN, May 8, 2010, 03.30am IST

NEW DELHI: The SC on Friday upheld the validity of a civil services
examination (CSE) rule virtually stopping double quota benefit for
reserved category candidates who qualify on merit after competing
under general quota.

A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices S H
Kapadia, R V Raveendran, B Sudershan Reddy and P Sathasivam quashed a
Madras High Court order which had termed the CSE rule 16(2) as
unconstitutional. Rule 16(2) provides an opportunity to reserved
category candidates, who rank among the general category, to fall back
on their backward class status and improve their service choice.
The improved service so availed by the reserved category candidate
would then be counted against the quota posts specified for that
service.

For example, if a reserved category candidate secures a rank in
general category that fetches him Indian Revenue Services, then he
could avail his backward status to improve his service and even get
IAS.

Under Rule 16(2), the IRS post so vacated by the candidate by falling
back on his SC, ST or OBC status, would then be offered to a general
category candidate next in the waiting list. The HC had termed Rule
16(2) as unconstitutional as it was detrimental to the intention of
socially affirmative action provided under the law.

Challenging this judgment, the Centre and a host of petitioners termed
the HC ruling anomalous. Appearing for one of the petitioners,
advocate Anirudh Sharma had argued that it would amount to giving
reservation over and above the specified percentage of posts reserved
for SCs, STs and OBCs. The SC had on June 1, 2008, stayed the HC
judgment.

Writing the unanimous verdict for the five-judge bench, CJI
Balakrishnan said, "Candidates who avail the benefit of Rule 16(2) and
are adjusted in the reserved category should be counted as part of the
reserved pool for the purpose of computing the aggregate
reservations."