Since the announcements of dates of NEET 2021, a lot of students and various political organisations across the country have been protesting over the past few weeks, seeking the implementation of OBC reservations in NEET's All India Quota (AIQ). Now, according to media reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the relevant ministries that the issue must be resolved “on top priority” soon.
The decision was taken at a meeting which was held on Monday evening and was directed to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Mansukh Mandviya respectively. Currently, a total of 15 per cent of medical UG seats and 50 per cent of medical PG seats fall under the All India Quota. The state governments can reserve seats according to their reservation norms, only in the remaining seats.
Bodies pushing for the resolution of these issues had expected the issue to be resolved by this academic year, but the National Testing Agency had said that a decision cannot be taken since the matter was still sub-judice. The centre had told the Madras High Court that it would take a decision on this matter by July 26.
Recently, the All India Federation of Other Backward Classes Employees Welfare Association had said that the non-implementation of OBC quota in AIQ seats had led to a loss of over medical 11,000 seats, since the inception of NEET. The organisation, however, welcomed the PM's stand. "This is a welcome decision," said its General Secretary G Karunanidhy. "We hope the government will implement state-specific reservations in AIQ seats from the current academic year 2021-22," he added. The All India OBC Students' Association too welcomed the decision. However, its president Kiran Kumar added, "The government must also fill up these 11,000 OBC medical seats in a phased manner."
