Will retain Rs 8 lakh income limit for economically weaker section, Centre tells SC

The Center has informed the apex court that it has decided to accept the recommendation of the three-member committee to fix the total annual household income limit of Rs 8 lakh to determine the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). The government has recommended that family income be a viable criterion for determining the EWS component, and the current annual household income limit of Rs 8 lakh is reasonable for determining the EWS component, the government said. In its affidavit on NEET-PG admission, the central government said that the committee had recommended that only those families with an annual income of Rs 8 lakh would be eligible for EWS benefits.

On behalf of the Central Government, Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, R. Subramaniam has filed an affidavit. "“I respectfully submit that the central government has decided to accept the recommendations of the committee, including the recommendation of applying the new criteria prospectively," he said. The central government had assured the court that it would reconsider the criteria for determining the EWS component. Accordingly, on November 30, the government appointed Ajay Bhushan Pandey (former finance secretary), V. K. A three-member committee comprising Malhotra (Member Secretary, ICSS) and Sanjeev Sanyal (Principal Economic Adviser to the Center) was formed.

The committee had submitted its report to the Central Government on December 31 last year. The committee had said in its report that the current annual household income limit of Rs 8 lakh or less should be maintained for EWS. This means that families with an annual income of Rs. 8 lakhs will be eligible for the benefit of EWS reservation.