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The Supreme Court today allowed 27 per cent reservation for OBC (Other Backward Classes) and 10 per cent quota for students from poor families. Petitions had challenged quotas introduced by the centre in July, saying the criteria were identified without enough study and that post-graduate admissions must be merit-based with minimal reservation.
Over 45,000 junior doctors can now join the workforce, which comes as India fights a surge of Covid cases - over two lakh in the past 48 hours. These are medical professionals who have completed basic degrees and are attached to hospitals where they study/work for post-grad specialisations.
NEET-PG, or National Eligibility/Entrance Test (Post-Graduate) is a qualifying exam for medical students for admission to over 100 private and government colleges. Those who clear it are given 'counselling' - they are directed to universities and colleges based on marks and chosen specialisation and can work under senior colleagues' supervision.
Today's order means tens of thousands of aspiring doctors - who cleared the NEET-PG exam held in September but could not join colleges due to delayed counselling - can do so.
Resident doctors' associations have been protesting the delay in college allotments, particularly since the September exam was carried over from December 2020, which was postponed because of the pandemic.
These protests included a scuffle with the police outside Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital after they were stopped from marching to the Supreme Court.
In July, the Centre had announced 27 per cent and 10 per cent reservation (for both under- and post-graduate courses) for OBC and EWS (Economically Weaker Section) students in the centre's lists.
Medical students looking for admission to colleges outside their home state will be given seats in the All-India Quota. Earlier, there was a blanket 27 per cent quota for OBC students in all central institutions but no such provision for colleges run by state governments.
A petition had also challenged the Rs 8 lakh a year income limit for economically weaker beneficiaries. The petitioners wanted the limit to be reduced to Rs 2.5 lakh.
The court asked the centre to justify using the higher income limit; Justice DY Chandrachud had asked: "You must have some demographic or socio-economic data. You can't just pluck the 8 lakh figure out of thin air." A detailed hearing on this has been set for March 5.
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