Special Recruitment for OBCs in Kerala Government Services
Left Democratic Front government in Kerala has announced a special recruitment drive for OBC (Other Backward Classes) to fill the less than adequate representation of OBCs in Kerala Government Services. The decision was made by a high-power committee presided by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that had met last week. Data collection about the existing representation of OBCs in government, public sector and self-governing institutions has already begun.
Earlier, the Kerala PSC (Public Service Commission) had reported to the government that no candidates belonging to certain OBC communities in Kerala could be found for few crucial positions in some of the government departments. There are currently 74 departments under the Government of Kerala.
In the meeting held last week, the PSC was instructed to look into the possibility of a direct recruitment from a specific community, when no candidates from that community are found even after two notifications.
The Government of Kerala led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) had earlier decided for a special recruitment drive for filling the lack of representation of SC (Schedule Tribe) Communities. Eight hundred and seventy-one posts reserved for SC (Scheduled Caste) and ST communities were vacant, according to the official statistics (on January 1, 2017), before the beginning of this special recruitment drive. As many as 150 Adivasi youth have already been inducted in various government services like police, excise and forest department as a part of this drive. This includes 52 males and 22 females who were recently recruited to Kerala police. One of them is the sister of Madhu, an Adivasi youth who was recently murdered in a mob lynching incident in Kerala.
Also Read: Kerala's Labour Policy to Set New Highs for Workers' Rights in India
OBCs in Kerala is composed of a numerous communities from the most prominent Ezhavas to Muslims or Mappilas, and Latin Catholics. Members of the Scheduled Caste communities that have converted to Christianity are also considered as OBCs in Kerala.
A special web portal was instituted for coordinating the data collection activities. Once the data collection is over, steps including the special recruitment will begin. CM Vijayan has categorically instructed the department heads that the data collection must be completed in a time-bound manner.
(With inputs from Deshabhimani)
Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
