ROHINI COMMISSION (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: Rohini Commission may recommend key changes to OBC quota policy.

• The report, which is more than 1,000-pages long, is divided in two parts -- the first deals with how the OBC quota should be allocated; and the second is an updated list of all 2,633 OBC castes across the country.

Key Points

• According to people familiar with the recommendations, the commission has said that “the purpose of sub-categorisation is not to establish a new hierarchy among OBCs, but to provide a level playing field for all”.
• The commission, the people added, has proposed the sub-categorisation of “the Central List of OBCs primarily on the basis of quantum of benefits enjoyed by different communities.”
• The people, who asked not to be named that the commission has recommended the criteria for this sub-categorisation, going beyond those adopted by earlier commissions like the Kaka Kalelkar or by the panel headed by BP Mandal.

Rohini Commission

• Set up: In October 2017 under Article 340.

oArticle 340 grants the President of India the authority to designate a commission tasked with examining matters related to OBCs and providing suggestions to enhance their circumstances.

• Aim: To examine the concentration of reservation and benefits among dominant OBC caste groups.