4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities within 27 per cent

New Delhi, Dec 23: The government decided to carve out a sub-quota of 4.5 per cent for minorities within the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs, a move which comes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, took the decision that would pave way for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for minorities as defined in section 2 (C) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.

Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) are notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the Act.

The sub-quota will be notified by an executive order, to be issued tonight itself. The decision is based on the recommendation of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities. "The caste and communities of the said minorities which are included in the central list of OBCs notified from time to time by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment shall be covered by the said sub quota," an official source said. Sources said the decision was unanimous, though Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi (Trinamool Congress) was not present in the meeting.