Government today decided to extend the tenure of the Commission for Economically Backward Classes by one year in order to work out modalities to give effect to the measures not covered by the existing reservation policy.
The term of the Commission expired today. "The welfare measures recommended by the Commission will benefit economically backward sections of society by giving them adequate representation in services," Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said after a meeting of the Union Cabinet.
The mandate of the Commission was to elicit the views of state governments and union territories to suggest criteria for identification of the economically backward classes and recommend welfare measures and quantum of reservation in education and government employment, he said.
Through another decision, the Cabinet also gave its nod to convert the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) from an autonomous body into a government entity under the Department of Space, Dasmunsi said.
This would enable NRSA to perform to its mandated role to acquire, process, supply of aerial and satellite remote sensing data for end-to-end solutions for natural resource management, geospatial applications and information services.
It also provides single-window disaster management support services through its Decision Support Centre.
The Cabinet also approved signing of agreements with Latin American nations El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to exempt visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders. The agreements would remain in force for indefinite period, Dasmunsi said.
