The Indian Union Health Ministry recently made a significant announcement, declaring that there will be a 27% reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and a 10% quota for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) within the All India Quota (AIQ) scheme. This new policy will apply to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical and dental courses from the academic year 2021-22 and beyond.
The AIQ and its Background
The All India Quota (AIQ) term originates from a scheme initiated in 1986 under Supreme Court instructions. The primary intent behind the AIQ was to create merit-based opportunities for students of all states to pursue studies in medical colleges located in different states.
The AIQ comprises 15% of UG seats and 50% of PG seats in government medical colleges. The rest of the seats in state medical/dental colleges are set aside for students domiciled in their respective states.
In 2007, the case of Abhay Nath v University of Delhi and Others led to the Supreme Court introducing a reservation of 15% for Scheduled Castes and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes in the AIQ. Prior to this ruling, there were no reservation policies implemented in the AIQ for medical admissions.
Implementation of Reservation for OBCs and EWS
When the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act became effective in 2007, it mandated a uniform 27% reservation for OBCs. The Act was implemented across all Central Educational Institutions, but interestingly, was not extended to the AIQ seats of State medical and dental colleges.
Similarly, a 10% EWS quota, which was introduced under the Constitution (One Hundred And Third Amendment) Act in 2019, was only implemented in central educational institutions. It was not incorporated into the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) AIQ for state institutions.
With the recent decision by the Union Health Ministry, this scenario is about to change. The OBC and EWS categorization will now extend to reservations within the AIQ in medical colleges starting this academic year. This policy revision stands to benefit thousands of students falling under these categories.
About NEET and its Evolution
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) serves as the gateway for any student aspiring to enter undergraduate or postgraduate medical and dental courses in the country.
Previously, up until 2016, the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) was the standard national-level entrance examination for medical colleges. However, different state governments conducted separate entrance tests for seats that were outside the scope of an all-India level contest.
A change came about in 2016 when the Supreme Court upheld the newly inserted section 10-D of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. This provision called for a uniform entrance examination for all medical educational institutions at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in various languages such as Hindi and English.
Presently, the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 has been repealed and replaced by the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, which came into effect on 8th August 2019. The NEET is now conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
