A key bill to provide reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs under state seats in central education institutes in tribal areas was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) was adopted by voice vote after HRD Minister Kapil Sibal allayed concerns expressed by members regarding the quota, saying 27 reservation for the OBCs will be fully implemented in central institutions.

The Principal Act (the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, requires institutions to increase the total number of seats in such a manner that the number of unreserved seats (general category) is not reduced due to reservation for OBCs.

This was based on the number of seats available for general category before the Act was passed.

The Principal Act states that in case the central government decides that a central educational institution is not able to increase the seats to its annual permitted strength due to financial, physical or academic limitation, it may allow such institutions to increase the seats within three years. The Bill increases the time period to six years.

It states that reservation of seats shall begin in 2007 while the new Bill amends this to 2008. Thus, the time-frame has been extended to 2014 from 2010.

The Bill also seeks to add a proviso that if there are central educational institutions in a tribal area under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the state seats in those institutions shall have reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs.

The quantum of reservation shall be prescribed by the state government.

State seats refer to seats allocated for eligible students of the state in which the central educational institution is situated.

The Principal Act provides for reservation of seats for students belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and OBCs in certain central educational institutions as per the national quota policy.

Responding to demands for increasing the percentage of reservation and provide it according to the population of communities, Sibal said the bill concerns only central institutions and states are free to take decisions on increasing reservation in state institutions as such.

"Since so much is being said about reservation, I would like to say there is no restriction on reservation by states. You tell your chief ministers first to increase quota....this Act only applies to the central instituions...I will like to see that this (increased quota) is implemented in state institutions of Orissa," Sibal said.

BJD member Pyarimohan Mohapatra and BSP members Narendra Kashyap and Avatar Singh Karimpuri demanded an increase in quota.

To Kashyap's demand to increase the MP quota in Kendriya Vidyalaya admissions from two to 25, Sibal said a proposal to increase it to just five had in the past been shot down by Law Ministry.

To the demand of N Balaganga (AIADMK) for emulating the reservation model of Tamil Nadu, which had provided 69 per cent reservation, Sibal said the matter was still pending before the Supreme Court even though there was no stay on it.