Government on Thursday approved inclusion of more castes in the central list of OBCs for various states, a move it hopes will especially help it reach out to people in Naxal affected states. Sources said the Union Cabinet has given approval to most additions from Jharkhand and Chhattishgarh in the Other Backward Castes list. "Inclusion of these communities in the central list of OBCs will enable them to avail benefits of reservation in central government services as well as in central education institutions, thus contributing to the goal of equity and inclusiveness," an official spokesperson said. Adrakhi Mahato caste of Bihar is one such community, whose inclusion in the central list of OBC for Bihar was approved on Thursday. Similar changes have been approved for inclusion as well as amendments in the names of castes and communities in the OBC's central list for Chhattishgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu. The new additions will be made public after the ministry of social justice and empowerment issues a notification in this regard.
The ministry will, for the first time, notify the central list of OBCs for Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, and also make amendments in the list in respect of four states Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan and Union Territory of Daman and Diu. The changes have been made on the recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). Sources in the Commission said that these recommendations were sent in August last year. The Commission sources added that similar recommendations were also sent for West Bengal, Maharashtra, Assam and Uttarakhand. NCBC had also approved a proposal to include the Gada caste of Uttar Pradesh in the central list of OBC for the state, the sources said.