A list of 205 castes and communities from all over the country has been sent to the union cabinet for their inclusion in or exclusion from the scheduled caste category, minister of state for social justice and empowerment Maneka Gandhi told the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Answering supplementaries during the Question Hour, she said it was for the cabinet to decide the merit of those cases. Gandhi said 1,695 cases had been received by her ministry during the last five years.
Replying to the main question regarding communities included in SC category in Maharashtra, she said 123 proposals had been received from the state.
After examining them, two cases were referred to the union cabinet and 21 were pending with the registrar general of India, she said.
Answering another supplementary, Gandhi said that her ministry was giving pre-matric and post-matric scholarships to SC/ST students to help them do better in their studies.
Bureau Report