The SCs, STs and OBCs are entitled to 15 per cent, 7.5 per cent and 27 per cent reservation, respectively, in appointment of faculty members. In 2008, the HRD ministry asked the IITs to bring the “scientific and technical” posts under the ambit of quotas while recruiting teachers up to the assistant professor level. “Scientific and Technical posts which satisfy the following conditions can be exempted from the purview of the reservation orders by the ministries/departments,” the document said. Krishnan said the government had identified “scientific” posts in 1961 and kept them outside the purview of reservation because there were not enough eligible candidates from among SCs, STs and OBCs. In the past 70 years, a sizable section of SCs, STs and OBCs have gained adequate higher education to be eligible for these posts now,” Krishnan said.

Source: The Telegraph February 08, 2019 22:52 UTC