Bihar Assembly unanimously passes bill for 65% caste quota, past Supreme Court cap

News Network
November 9, 2023

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Patna, Nov 9: The Bihar Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a bill to increase reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Extremely Backward Classes in state jobs and educational institutions to 65 per cent. This is well past the Supreme Court's 50 per cent cap.

The amended bill will now have to be signed off by Governor Rajendra Arlekar before it is law.

The amendments were passed amid ruckus inside and outside the Bihar Assembly - over Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's remark this week on women's education and population control.

Under the revised quotas, Scheduled Caste candidates will have 20 per cent reservation, while those from OBCs and EBCs will get 18 and 25 per cent - a significant increase from the earlier (combined) 30 per cent. Reservation of two per cent has been proposed for ST candidates.

At present there is 18 per cent reservation for EBCs and 12 per cent for Backward Classes, 16 per cent for Scheduled Castes, and one per cent for Scheduled Tribes.

The existing three per cent reservation for women from backward classes has been scrapped.

The amended bill excludes the central government's mandatory 10 per cent reservation for individuals from Economically Weaker Sections, and will take total quotas to 75 per cent.

Nitish Kumar had proposed the amendment on Tuesday, hours after his government tabled the full report of the contentious state-wide caste survey. The report said 36 per cent of the Bihar's 13.1 crore people are from EBCs and 27.1 per cent are from Backward Classes.

Of the rest, 19.7 per cent are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 1.7 per cent of the population. The General Category accounts for 15.5 per cent of the population, the report said.

This means that over 60 per cent of Bihar hails from OBCs or EBCs.

Data from the survey was presented amid BJP claims that data about population of the Yadav - to which Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav belongs - and Muslim communities was manipulated.

The Yadav community, which will benefit from 18 per cent reservation for OBC groups, is the largest sub-group, accounting for 14.27 per cent of the category.

The report also said that 42 per cent of all Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe families live in poverty, and that 34 per cent of all families in the state survive on less than ₹ 6,000 per month.

Also according to the data, less than six per cent of individuals from Scheduled Castes had finished their schooling; i.e., cleared Class 11 and Class 12.

The report was initially criticised by the BJP; in a sharp response hours after data was released, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of "trying to divide the country in the name of caste".

Last week, though, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared the BJP remains open to the idea of a nation-wide caste census, so long as due diligence is done.

The data - coming months before next year's Lok Sabha poll - underlines the electoral importance of OBCs and marginalised communities - both for the BJP, which has opposed calls for a national caste census, and the opposition, which has been increasingly more and more vocal on the subject. 

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News Network
November 21,2025

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Udupi: The Malpe Police have arrested two men from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly sharing classified information related to Indian Navy vessels with individuals in Pakistan, posing a serious threat to national security.

According to a complaint filed by the CEO of Udupi Cochin Shipyard, Malpe—an institution under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways—the prime accused, Rohit (29), was working as an insulator through subcontractor M/S Shushma Marine Pvt Ltd. He had earlier served at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, Kerala, where naval ships are under construction.

Udupi SP Hariram Shankar said the accused had unlawfully shared, via WhatsApp, confidential identification numbers of Navy-related ships and other classified details while working in Kerala, allegedly for illegal gains.

After joining the Malpe shipyard unit, Rohit reportedly continued collecting sensitive information through a friend in Kochi and circulated it to unauthorised individuals, violating national security protocols and potentially endangering India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity.

Based on the complaint, Malpe Police registered a case under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

A police team led by Karkala Subdivision Assistant Superintendent of Police Harsha Priyamvada—along with PSI Anil Kumar D, ASI Harish, and PC Ravi Jadhav—conducted the investigation and arrested the two accused, identified as Rohit (29) and Santri (37), both residents of Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh.

The duo was produced before the court, which remanded them in judicial custody till December 3. Further investigation is in progress.

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News Network
November 22,2025

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The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

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News Network
November 21,2025

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An Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas fighter jet crashed on Friday, November 21, afternoon during its aerial demonstration at the Dubai Air Show, plunging to the ground at around 2:10 pm local time while performing a manoeuvre before thousands of spectators.

The IAF confirmed the incident, stating that a Tejas aircraft participating in the show had crashed and that further details were being gathered. An Air Force spokesperson said more information would be shared after initial assessments.

The crash sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky near the airport, causing panic among visitors, including families and children who had gathered to watch the display. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the pilot managed to eject before the aircraft went down. Emergency response teams rushed to the scene, and officials have not released information on casualties or damage so far.

The Tejas is a 4.5-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Designed for versatility, it is capable of offensive air support, close combat, ground attack missions and maritime operations. The aircraft family includes single-seat fighters and twin-seat trainers for both the Air Force and Navy.

HAL describes the latest version, the LCA Mk1A, as the most advanced in the series, featuring an AESA radar, an upgraded electronic warfare suite with radar-warning and self-protection jamming, smart multifunction displays, a digital map generator, a combined interrogator–transponder system and a modern radio altimeter. These enhancements significantly improve the aircraft’s combat capability and survivability.

Further updates from IAF and UAE authorities are awaited.

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