Other Backward Classes

OBC Full Form in English, letter by letter

OBC is the category for socially and educationally backward communities in India, with 27 percent reservation in central jobs and institutions.

OBC Full Form in Indian Languages

Reservation debates in India rarely get past the headline percentage. The category underneath, OBC or Other Backward Classes, has a longer and more contested history than most people realise. Here is the name in six languages.

What the Other Backward Classes category means

Other Backward Classes, abbreviated OBC, is the official grouping for communities identified as socially and educationally backward. The word Other separates them from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who are listed separately. The category carries 27 percent reservation in central government jobs and central educational institutions, along with age relaxation in recruitment examinations.

The list is not a single national one. The Centre keeps a central OBC list and every state keeps its own, with its own percentages, so a community may be OBC in one state and unlisted in another, or listed centrally but not in a particular state. Finding out which list applies to your application is the first step.

How the 27 percent quota came about

The quota is the product of commissions, court rulings and constitutional provisions.

The Mandal Commission

The Second Backward Classes Commission, headed by B.P. Mandal, was set up in 1979 and submitted its report in 1980. It recommended 27 percent reservation for backward classes in central services and institutions. The V.P. Singh government announced implementation in August 1990.

The Indra Sawhney judgment

In 1992 the Supreme Court upheld the 27 percent quota, excluded the creamy layer from it and said that reservation should generally stay within 50 percent. The ruling still governs how the quota works.

The constitutional basis

Articles 15(4), 15(5) and 16(4) allow the state to make special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes in education and public employment. The 102nd Amendment of 2018 gave the National Commission for Backward Classes constitutional status.

Who is excluded as creamy layer

The creamy layer rule keeps better-off OBC families out of the quota so that its benefits reach those who need them. For central purposes the income ceiling has been 8 lakh rupees a year since 2017. Parliamentary committees have asked for it to be raised, so check the latest government notification before you rely on that number. Certain posts held by parents also place a family in the creamy layer regardless of income.

Candidates from creamy layer families compete in the general category. The certificate that proves non-creamy layer status is tied to a financial year, and a wrong year on the certificate is one of the commonest reasons for a rejected claim.

Getting an OBC certificate issued

First confirm that your caste appears in the central or state OBC list that applies to your purpose, and that your family is not in the creamy layer. Then apply to the Tehsildar or Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or through your state's e-district portal, with proof of caste (usually a father's or paternal relative's certificate or school record), an income certificate or declaration, residence proof, photographs and the filled form. Documents vary from state to state, so use the checklist on your state's own portal.

For central jobs and central institutions you need an OBC non-creamy layer certificate in the central format, and a state OBC certificate is not accepted for the central quota if the caste is not on the central list. Most states reissue the certificate on a schedule. The National Commission for Backward Classes and its state counterparts handle additions to the lists and complaints.

Where OBC reservation applies in practice

Central government jobs and central institutions, including the IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and central universities, carry 27 percent OBC reservation. In recruitment through UPSC, OBC candidates get three years of age relaxation, and the Civil Services Examination allows nine attempts for OBC candidates against six for the general category. SSC and other bodies apply similar age relaxation. State universities and state services follow their own state lists and percentages.

Since 2019 there is also a separate 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections among those outside the SC, ST and OBC categories, which is why total reservation in central institutions now crosses the 50 percent mark. Admission counselling and job notifications show a separate OBC column in the seat matrix. Reading it closely, central or state list, creamy layer or not, decides whether you can use it.

The question of sub-categorising OBCs so that benefits are shared more evenly was studied by the Rohini Commission, set up in 2017, which submitted its report in 2023.

The paperwork decides who actually benefits from OBC reservation: list membership, creamy layer status and certificate validity. Keep the certificate current, and read the exact wording of each notification before claiming the quota.

OBC Full Form: Common Questions