J&K Cabinet Clears 10% Increase in Open Merit Quota; EWS, RBA Slashed
Srinagar, 3 December 2025: The Jammu and Kashmir government has cleared a significant overhaul of the reservation structure, proposing sharp reductions in two key categories to increase opportunities for Open Merit aspirants.
Senior officials confirmed to Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, has approved a proposal to cut the EWS quota by 7 percent and the RBA quota by 3 percent, effectively raising the Open Merit share by a substantial 10 percent.
Sources said the cabinet has accepted the Cabinet Sub-Committee (CSC) recommendations in full, making this one of the most consequential reservation adjustments in recent years. The CSC had advised that categories such as ST-I, ST-II, SC, OBC, and ALC/IB should remain untouched to avoid disturbing existing protections, while recommending rationalisation in EWS and RBA due to demographic and structural concerns raised over the years.
With the fresh proposal, the Open Merit quota would rise to 50 percent, marking a major shift in the reservation matrix of Jammu and Kashmir. Officials noted that this increase aligns the UT more closely with the Supreme Court’s 50 percent reservation cap.
The cabinet’s decision will now be forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor for final approval. As per the Transaction of Business Rules, 2019, the LG is required to consult the Union Home Ministry before clearing proposals that affect Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes or minority communities. This mandatory consultation could slightly delay the notification, sources added.
At present, J&K’s reservation structure allocates 10 percent each to ST-I, ST-II, RBA, and EWS, 8 percent each to SC and OBC categories, and 4 percent to ALC/IB. If the cabinet proposal is approved, EWS would drop from 10 percent to 3 percent, RBA from 10 percent to 7 percent, and Open Merit would see its largest expansion in decades.
Opposition parties have so far refrained from issuing formal responses. BJP spokesperson Sunil Sethi told KNO that the party would not comment until the government makes the full proposal public. “It would be premature to react at this stage,” he said.
Key voices who have been actively raising the issue, including MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, were unavailable for comment.
Peoples Conference president Sajad Gani Lone, who has long demanded rationalisation of the reservation matrix, indirectly criticised the government’s handling of the issue. In a post on X, he accused the administration of creating internal divisions. “The elected government is passing on the buck and trying to create a wedge in the Kashmiri ranks, pitting one Kashmiri against another,” he wrote, adding that a simple legislative act in the Assembly could restore district and divisional recruitment processes.
The proposal marks one of the most closely watched policy decisions of the new administration, with intense public debate expected in the days ahead.
Source: Kashmir News Observer
