Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet has approved a policy reserving the 35% women’s quota in government jobs exclusively for women domiciled in Bihar, effectively barring women from other states from benefiting under this category.
Previously, women from outside Bihar, including Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, were recruited through the 40% unreserved category where the women’s quota was also applicable. Under the new policy, the 35% horizontal reservation for women, introduced in 2016, will now apply only to Bihari women. This move increases the effective domicile-based reservation in Bihar government jobs to 74%.
At present, Bihar offers 60% reservation on caste and economic grounds – with 18% for Extremely Backward Classes, 12% for Other Backward Classes, 16% for Scheduled Castes, 1% for Scheduled Tribes, and 3% for OBC women, alongside a 10% quota for Economically Weaker Sections. Domicile restrictions already apply to these categories.
The latest decision emerged after concerns were raised in the assembly over the large number of women from other states securing teaching jobs in recent recruitments. With the cabinet approval, women from outside Bihar will now compete solely on merit for the remaining 26% unreserved posts.
The government has clarified that only Bihari candidates will be appointed on reserved posts. Opposition leaders, however, argue that similar domicile restrictions on Biharis working in other states could negatively affect interstate employment prospects.
