103rd Constitutional Amendment Act: Revisiting Income Criterion for EWS Quota

Table of Contents

103rd Constitutional Amendment Act- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Indian Constitution- Historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

103rd Constitutional Amendment Act- Context

Recently, the Union Government informed the Supreme Court that it would revisit the “criteria” for determining Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) to provide them reservation (EWA Quota).
- The government said a committee would be set up to review the “criteria” to identify the EWS category.
- The EWS quota was meant for persons who earned less than ₹8 lakh annually and did not benefit from any other existing reservation.
The SC was hearing a case filed by NEET aspirants challenging a July 29 notification announcing 27% quota to OBCs and 10% reservation to the EWS in the All-India Quota (AIQ) category.

103rd Constitutional Amendment Act– Key Amendments

The Parliament of India amended the following sections of the constitution through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act 2019 to bring EWS quota for economically weaker sections of the society.

Article 15 (6): It was added in the constitution of India with an aim to provide reservations to economically weaker sections for admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of Article 30.
- The 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act aims to provide reservation to those who do not fall in articles 15 (5) and 15(4).
- Article 15(4) and 15(5) of the Indian Constitution provides reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs.
Article 16 (6): It was added in the constitution to provide reservations to people from economically weaker sections in government posts.
- Criteria for deciding EWS quota beneficiaries: A provision in the 103^rd Constitutional Amendment states that- “economic weakness” shall be decided on the basis of “family income” and other “indicators of economic disadvantage.”

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

103rd Constitutional Amendment Act- EWS Quota Eligibility

As per the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act 2019, the government has provided eligibility criteria for EWS Quota beneficiaries. EWS Quota is available to those-
- To those who are not covered in existing quotas
- Whose Family income below 8 lakhs a year or agricultural land below 5 acres.
- Who has a house above 1,000 square feet or a 100-yard plot.
- In the case of a residential plot in a non-notified municipality area, the residential plot should be below 200 yards.

Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)