14% on IIT-JEE merit list are OBCs

MUMBAI: The IIT entrance test results are out and the case of the quota for OBCs just got curiouser. A total of 1,134 candidates from the other backward castes cleared the test — all in the open merit list.

This is 14.35% of the general category. 8,652 candidates have qualified to seek admission to 6,872 seats available.

Last year, 13.74% OBC candidates had made it to the IITs without reservation.
“The OBC candidates have secured good ranks and all are in the common merit list,” said a JEE official. “So, a relaxed criterion may not need to be invoked for them.”

Explaining the selection procedure for the reserved categories, JEE officials said OBC or SC/ST candidates who are in the common merit list will have the option to either come through the quota or enter directly as general candidates.

“They can ask for a specific branch. If he/she gets it on the basis of all-India rank (AIR), then the student can get in through the general category. But if the ranks are lower, they may not get their choice. Here the quota may help them as there are a limited number of seats reserved for them in every course,” said an IIT official.

Thus, an OBC student whose AIR is 1,000 but OBC rank is 90 is more likely to get a branch of his choice if he gets in through the reserved quota.  

The reserved candidates will have to declare if they want to enter through the general category or quota at the time of counselling. 690 SC candidates qualified while 159 ST candidates have cleared the test.

While the cut-off marks for OBC candidates are likely to be relaxed by 10% and for SC and ST candidates by 40% (below the aggregate of the last general candidate to be selected), the IITs refused to give any details and said all IIT websites would make the information public on August 1 after the selection process is complete.

The government had brought in a quota of 27%  seats in IITs for OBCs and it is being implemented in a phased manner from this year. While 9% quota for OBCs will be implemented this year across all IITs, the total intake will be increased by 13.1% (OBC quota plus that for SC/ST candidates) to keep the number of seats for the general category intact.

“We are not concerned about merit going down because it won’t. Our only concern is getting good teachers,” said IIT Bombay director Ashok Misra.

The IITs have released separate lists for the OBC, SC and ST and one common merit list.

The Bombay zone, which had the maximum number of qualifiers last year, led this year too with 2,551 candidates qualifying. Bombay was followed by Madras (2,237), Delhi (1,549), Roorkee (828), Kharagpur (767), and Guwahati (193). Also, among the top 10 rankers, five are from IIT Bombay zone. “The Bombay zone has always been in the first or second position with respect to the number of candidates qualifying,” said IIT-B JEE chairman N Venkatramani.

Venkatramani said that while there are about 1,000 seats this year for the OBCs, it is quite likely that all those who have qualified might get an entry into one of the IITs.
— With Vineeta Pandey in New Delhi