M A I N   N E W S

Fixed term for Cabinet secretaries
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 22
In a move that will benefit some more backward castes in the country, the Union Cabinet today approved the inclusion of more castes in the central list of Other Backward Castes (OBCs) for various states. In another decision, the government also approved a fixed four-year tenure from now on for the Cabinet Secretary. The move will benefit incumbent K.M. Chandrasekhar.

The decisions were taken at the meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here today. Officials said that the move to include mores castes in the OBC list would help the government to reach out to people in Naxal-affected states. The Cabinet has apparently given approval to most additions from Jharkhand and Chhattishgarh in the OBC list.

Inclusion of these communities in the central list of OBCs will enable them to avail benefits of reservation in central government services as well as in central education institutions, thus contributing to the goal of equity and inclusiveness," an official spokesperson said.

According to reports, Adrakhi Mahato caste of Bihar is one such community, whose inclusion in the central list of OBC for Bihar was approved today. Similar changes have been approved for inclusion as well as amendments in the names of castes and communities in the OBC's central list for Chhattishgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu. The new additions will be made public after the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issues a notification in this regard. The ministry will, for the first time, notify the central list of OBCs for Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, and also make amendments in the list in respect of four states-Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan and Union Territory of Daman and Diu.

The changes have been made on the recommendation of the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). As per the decision taken by the Union Cabinet, the Cabinet Secretary would hereafter have a fixed tenure of four years. The Cabinet approved the change in the service rules governing the office of the Cabinet Secretary. Sixtytwo-year-old Chandrasekhar who became Secretary in June 2007, is presently on a three-year tenure. Earlier the tenure of the Cabinet Secretary was for two years which could be extended by one more year. With the changes in the rules, the tenure of the Cabinet Secretary should not exceed four years, the decision said.