Creamy Layer - Present Definition

Present Definition

The Supreme Court defines "creamy layer" by quoting an office memorandum dated 8 September 1993. The term was originally introduced in the context of reservation of jobs for certain groups in 1992. The Supreme Court has said the benefit of reservation should not be given to OBC children (SCs, STs, and the unreserved are exempt now) of constitutional functionaries such as the president, judges of the Supreme Court and high courts, employees of central and state bureaucracies above a certain level, public sector employees, members of the armed forces and paramilitary personnel above the rank of colonel.

The children of persons engaged in trade, industry and professions such as a doctor, lawyer, chartered accountant, income tax consultant, financial or management consultant, dental surgeon, engineer, architect, computer specialist, film artists and other film professional, author, playwright, sports person, sports professional, media professional or any other vocations of like status whose annual income is more than 450,000. OBC children belonging to any family that earns a total gross annual income (from sources other than salary and agricultural land) of Rs. 450,000, as the income ceiling for the creamy layer raised from 250,000 (US$ 5,500 in 1993 when the office memo was accepted) to 450,000 in October 2008, belong to the creamy layer and so are also excluded from being categorised as "socially and educationally backward" regardless of their social/educational backwardness.