03 Feb, 2021 10:59 PM

Lok Sabha Q&A : Reservation in Jobs for SCs

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 115
ANSWERED ON: 02.02.2021

Reservation in Jobs for SCs

115 Poonamben Hematbhai Madam
Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government has conducted any study to assess that Scheduled Castes (SCs) are being provided reservation in jobs;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto; and

(c) whether the said study has revealed the shortcomings regarding the reservation and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)

(a) to (c) A committee was constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment to make in-depth analysis of the reasons for non-filling up of reserved vacancies/less employability of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in Government Sector and suggest remedial measures. On the basis of recommendation of the Committee, various time bound measures have been identified.
A gist of various factors leading to less employability of SCs/STs/OBCs and PwDs for putting in place corrective measures with reference to reserved categories vacancies is annexed as Annexure.

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ANNEXURE

Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 115 for 02.02.2021 on “RESERVATION IN JOBS FOR SCs”

Gist of Various Factors Leading to Less employability of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Person with Disabilities (PwDs) and Conclusion/Policy Strategies, Analysis of Vacancy Position etc.

Adequately qualified candidates are not available for Group A and Group B posts and technical/scientific posts. In Group C and Group D posts, recruitment failure is pronounced in respect of Scheduled Tribes candidates.
Person with Disabilities need special attention in the matter of their employability. There are more than two crore PWDs in the country and nearly 75% of them live in rural areas. The key to inclusion of persons with disabilities in the developmental activities is to equip them with the right kind of skills necessary for performing activities.
Utilization of funds for the benefit of persons with disabilities under various poverty alleviation schemes is much lower than the mandated 3%. Inadequate training effort for skill development and awareness among the stakeholders are apparently major contributors to poor utilization of funds reserved for persons with disabilities. All the schemes have the component for training. But as per available statistics only 0.05% is being invested on it. This will have to be increased to the optimum level of 10% of the funds for a scheme.
Identification of institutions, organizations at block/district level across the country, development of appropriate modules and convergence between implementing agencies and experts in the disability sectors will be crucial for the required skill development of the Persons with Disabilities.
There does not seem to be much problem of employability of reserved category candidates where the required qualification is as simple as matriculation or graduation. However, lack of finishing skills like English fluency or interview skills may be a reason for their less employability.
Some posts required professional or Science qualifications like B.Sc./B.Sc.(Agri)/M.SC./M.SC.(Agri)/BE/B.Tech/MBBS/MD/Diploma/ITI/CA/ICWA/CFA etc. and qualified reserved category candidates are not available for posts requiring professional qualifications. Even professionally qualified persons require finishing training to enhance their chances for appointment.
Scarcity of qualified reserved category persons results in job switch over or not joining after selection as they get better jobs.
In some cases, selection is done on All India basis where as allocation is made zone or State wise. This also discourages reserved category candidates to join in areas which are far away from their native place.
Additional reasons for less employability of persons with disabilities are less identification of posts for Persons with Disabilities, dearth of professional qualified persons especially in Hearing Impaired category as there are less professional schools/colleges for them and the situation is no better for Visually Impaired persons. Minute specification physical requirement for the posts often resulting in mismatch and posts remain vacant. Moreover, lack of awareness of opportunities of employment due to their disabilities also caused less employability for them.
Each of the Department needs to analyse whether the backlog is on account of a change in the job profile that has resulted in inadequate number of individuals from the target groups in the recruitment net owing to the reasons that such individuals not having requisite skill or qualification. It is important that various kinds of skills set required would need to be analyzed and reviewed by the Departments.
Department having specialized posts need to devise policy strategies to ensure that individuals from the target group do not get excluded from the zone of consideration of such posts. The target groups may be provided as much exposure to employment oriented training and specific job oriented training with the initiative to publicise in the manner that it percolates to the maximum extent to prospective candidate. It is necessary that the strategy for enhancement of employability would also be inclusion of maximum number of candidates of these categories in the zone of consideration of reserved category posts.
Though the educational qualifications prescribed in Recruitment Rules for a post cannot be diluted, desirable qualifications may be relaxed or not taken into account at all while considering candidature of SCs/STs/OBC candidates. This may be made conditional to obtain such desirable qualification after joining the service for which employing body should provide full support including tuition fee, special leave etc.