New Delhi: In a significant move aimed at improving transparency and ensuring equitable distribution of reservation benefits, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended that the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) include sub-caste details in the final results of the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The recommendation came while the Commission was hearing a second appeal filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The appellant had sought caste-wise details of candidates selected to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) through the 1995 UPSC examination. In response, the DoPT informed the Commission that it does not maintain records at the sub-caste level. Instead, data is categorized broadly under Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Additionally, the department stated that records dating back to 1995 were not traceable.
During the proceedings, the DoPT also clarified that for more recent examinations, particularly from CSE-2017 onwards, lists of candidates along with their broad category classifications are publicly available on its official portal. However, the absence of granular sub-caste data remains a gap in assessing how reservation benefits are distributed within these larger social groups.
Acknowledging this limitation, the CIC observed that while such detailed data may not currently exist in official records, there is a “plausible scope” for incorporating sub-caste information in future disclosures. The Commission emphasized that doing so would enhance transparency and provide deeper insights into the effectiveness of affirmative action policies.
In its order, the CIC recommended that the DoPT consider including sub-caste details alongside aggregated caste categories in the final list of selected candidates. This, it noted, would help ensure that the benefits of reservation policies reach a broader and more diverse range of communities within each category.
Despite this recommendation, the Commission found no deficiency in the response provided by the authorities in the present case and accordingly disposed of the appeal under the RTI Act.
