Government examining OBC reservation in all-India quota seats of state agricultural universities

NEW DELHI: The issue of implementation of OBC reservation in all-India quota seats of state agricultural universities is under examination, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Tuesday. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Tomar said: "The issue of implementation of OBC reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) seats of state agricultural universities is under examination."

He was replying to a query whether the government has received a legal opinion from legal affairs on the implementation of OBC reservation in All India Quota esats of state agricultural universities. A K P Chinraj, the DMK MP from Tamil Nadu, asked whether the government has received legal opinion on the implementation of OBC reservation in All India Quota seats of state agricultural universities and whether the centre proposes to implement it.

While replying to another question, Tomar said, "the budget allocation of the Ministry of Agriculture (including DARE) and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying is 2.92 per cent of total budget allocation during the year 2023-24." DARE refers to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education. The budget allocation to the agriculture sector was 3.90 per cent during 2021-22 and 3.51 per cent during 2022-23, he added.