Eye on Lok Sabha elections? Maharashtra to implement 10% EWS quota

With an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led Maharashtra government on Monday decided to implement 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said in Mumbai.

The reservation, applicable in both education and government employment, was approved by the state cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in tune with the Centre's policy announcement last month, Mungantiwar said. On January 7, the Union cabinet had approved 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections in the general category in government jobs and educational institutions.

With this, Maharashtra became the seventh BJP-ruled or NDA-ruled state in the country to implement the new quota regime after Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Assam and Jharkhand.

The latest development benefiting the economically weaker sections came three months after Maharashtra passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education for Marathas in the state.