Hello,

Regarding the EWS reservation issue in Supreme Court, SC Centre has decided not to alter anything and stick to Rs 8 Lakh income limit as the criteria for 10% reservation for candidates from Economically Weaker section.

A government committee report in the Supreme Court has said that “income” is a “feasible criterion” for defining the “Economical Weaker Sections” (EWS) in society and the annual family income of 8 lakh is a “reasonable” threshold to determine EWS in order to extend reservation in admissions and jobs.

The  committee said the 8 lakh criterion struck a “fine balance” between over-inclusion and inclusion errors.

As stated in the THE HINDU article:

"The figure ensures that most low-income people who are not required to pay income tax are not excluded and are covered in EWS and at the same time it should not be so high that it becomes over-inclusive by including many incomes tax-paying middle-and high-income families into EWS. Though we may not completely eliminate yet we can try to minimise both exclusions as well as inclusion errors. Therefore, considering that the currently effective income tax exemption limit is around 8 lakh for individuals, the committee is of the view that the gross annual income limit of 8 lakh for the entire family would be reasonable for inclusion into EWS,” the report reasoned.

I hope you find the answer helpful.

Thank you.