Enhancing the effectiveness of affirmative actions: some lessons from local and global experiences

Abstract

After so many years of independence, India continues to struggle in providing equitable opportunities to various sections of society in education and jobs (especially in the government sector). Reservation policy has been at the core of the policy design to address the inequities faced by socially backward communities. Broadly, the affirmative action’s objective is to elevate depressed communities by reserving access to education, legislature and jobs controlled by the government. It caps constitutional intervention at the enrolment level after which progress is primarily expected to be driven by the individual’s meritocracy and the ability of the institution to be non-discriminatory in its processes.