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OBC, EWS and the state-versus-centre confusion

Three things on this page: find out if your caste is on the central list, check whether you are creamy layer, and understand why your state category is not your central category.

Built from the DoPT memoranda of 8 September 1993 and the EWS office memorandum · Updated 18 August 2026

Read this first: two different ₹8 lakh limits

OBC and EWS both use a figure of ₹8 lakh. They count completely different money.

OBC ignores salary. EWS counts salary. So one family can pass one test and fail the other, and both answers are right.

Is your caste on the central list?

Start typing. Three letters is enough.

Caste or community name

Narrow to one state Optional. Only your own state's entry counts for you.

In plain words

Every state has its own central list. Your caste must be on the list for your state. Being on another state's list does not help you.

Found your caste? Good. That is step one. Step two is the creamy layer test below.

What is loaded here 24 states and union territories, about 3,900 caste names. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and some north-eastern states and smaller union territories are not loaded. Many entries also carry conditions — a particular district, a sub-group, a religion — which this search does not show. Treat a result as a strong hint, then confirm on the NCBC list for your state.

Are you creamy layer?

What the rule says Sons and daughters of parents who are Class I officers, or both of whom are Class II officers, or where a Class II parent enters Class I at the age of 40 or earlier, fall within the creamy layer. Income from salaries or agricultural land shall not be clubbed for the income test.

In plain words

For government families, rank decides this, not salary.

What matters is the post your parent was first recruited into. Not the post they hold now.

A parent earning ₹20 lakh as a Group C employee does not make you creamy layer. A parent recruited straight into Group A does — even on a smaller salary.

Example 1 — the promotion case

Ravi's father joined the railways as a clerk in Group C. After twenty years he was promoted to Group B.

Ravi is not creamy layer.

His father was recruited into Group C. The rule is written for people recruited directly into Group A or Group B. Promotion later does not change how he entered.

Example 2 — the age-40 case

Meena's mother was recruited directly as a Group B officer at 28. She was promoted to Group A at 37.

Meena is creamy layer.

Her mother reached Class I at 40 or earlier. Had the promotion come at 41, Meena would not be creamy layer. One year, opposite answers.

Example 3 — the big salary case

Arjun's father is a Group C government employee. With allowances the household earns about ₹14 lakh a year. All of it is salary.

Arjun is not creamy layer.

The rule says salary is not counted. His family assumed for years that they earned too much to qualify. They were wrong, and they never applied.

Check your position

Answer for your parents.

How did your parents enter government, PSU or bank service? Choose how they were first recruited, not the post they hold today.

Family income that is not salary and not farming Business, rent, interest, professional fees. Judged over three years running.

Tick anything that applies

A parent is or was a Colonel or above in the armed forces A parent is a doctor, lawyer, engineer, chartered accountant, or runs a business of that size That parent has died, or is permanently unable to work

The rank rule, as a table

How your parent entered service	Are you creamy layer?
Recruited directly into Group A	Yes
Both parents recruited directly into Group B	Yes
Recruited into Group B, reached Group A at 40 or earlier	Yes
Recruited into Group B, reached Group A after 40	No
Recruited into Group C or D, later promoted to Group B	No
Group C or Group D	No

Do you qualify for EWS?

What the rule says Persons not covered under the scheme of reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs, and whose family has gross annual income below ₹8 lakh, are to be identified as EWS. Income shall also include income from all sources, that is salary, agriculture, business and profession. Families owning any of the listed assets are excluded irrespective of income.

In plain words

EWS is for people who get no other reservation. If you are SC, ST or OBC, EWS is not for you.

Here every rupee counts — salary, farming, business, all of it. This is the opposite of the OBC rule.

And property can disqualify you on its own. Even with a low income, owning a big enough house or plot puts you out.

Example 4 — the property case

Sneha's family earns ₹3 lakh a year. They own a 1,200 sq ft flat in their home town.

Sneha does not qualify for EWS.

The flat is over 1,000 sq ft. Income does not matter once an asset limit is crossed. And flats in different cities are added together, not counted separately.

Check your position

Family here means you, your parents, your brothers and sisters under 18, and your spouse and children under 18.

Do you already get SC, ST or OBC reservation?

Total family income last year, from everything Salary, farming, business, rent — add it all up.

Does your family own any of these?

5 acres of farmland or more A flat of 1,000 sq ft or more A plot of 100 sq yards or more inside a notified municipality A plot of 200 sq yards or more outside one

Your state category is not your central category

In plain words

India runs two separate reservation systems. One for state government jobs. One for central government jobs, including UPSC.

They use different lists and different income rules. Your position in one tells you nothing about the other.

So yes — you can be General Merit in your state and OBC at the centre. Many people are, and never find out.

Example 5 — the one people miss

Kiran is from Karnataka. His state certificate says General Merit, because his state counts his father's salary and it crosses their limit.

But his caste is on the central list for Karnataka. And the centre does not count salary — his father was recruited into Group C.

Kiran is General Merit in Karnataka and OBC non-creamy-layer for UPSC.

He spent three attempts in the general category without knowing.

	Central list	State list
Who makes it	National Commission for Backward Classes	Your state's backward classes commission
Used for	UPSC, central government jobs, central PSUs, central universities, IITs, NITs, AIIMS	State government jobs, state universities, state quota seats
Categories	UR, OBC, SC, ST, EWS	Whatever your state uses — Karnataka has GM, Cat 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B
Income rule	Rank first. Salary and farm income ignored	Set by the state. Most count salary
Certificate	OBC certificate in central format, with non-creamy-layer declaration	State caste and income certificate

Do not carry the wrong certificate A state certificate is not accepted for a central government job. UPSC needs the central-format OBC certificate with the non-creamy-layer declaration on it. People are rejected at document verification every year for bringing the state one — after clearing the exam.

All four combinations happen

In your state	At the centre	What it means
OBC / 2A / BC	OBC	Reservation in both
OBC / 2A / BC	Not listed	State jobs only. No claim at UPSC
General Merit	OBC	You have a central claim. This is the one people miss
General Merit	Not listed	No reservation either side. EWS may still apply

Common questions

My father earns ₹15 lakh. Are we creamy layer?

Not because of that, if it is salary. The rule says salary is not counted. What counts is the rank he was recruited into, and money coming from business or profession.

My father joined as a clerk and is now Group B. Am I creamy layer?

No. The rule applies to people recruited directly into Group A or Group B. He entered in Group C. Rising later does not change that.

I am General Merit in my state. Can I still be OBC for UPSC?

Yes, and it is common. The two lists are made by different bodies using different rules. Check the central list for your state before assuming you have no claim.

Is my state caste certificate enough for UPSC?

No. You need the central-format OBC certificate, which states both that your caste is on the central list for your state and that you are not creamy layer.

Can I claim OBC and EWS together?

No. EWS is only for people who get no other reservation. If your caste is on the OBC list you are in the OBC stream, whether or not you clear the creamy layer test.

What these tools cannot do They apply the standard rules to what you tell them. They cannot check your caste entry, your parents' service record or your family's income. Some parts of the rules are summarised rather than fully applied — constitutional post holders, large landholdings, and the special provisions where a parent has died or cannot work. Your competent state authority issues the certificate, and its decision is the one that counts.

Sources DoPT Office Memorandum No. 36012/22/93-Estt.(SCT) dated 8 September 1993, including the Schedule and its explanation that income from salaries and agricultural land is not clubbed; and the DoPT office memorandum on EWS reservation, for the ₹8 lakh limit, the four asset tests, the rule that property in different cities is added together, and the definition of family. Caste names from the Central List of OBCs published by the National Commission for Backward Classes. The ₹8 lakh OBC figure is the 2017 revision of the original ₹1 lakh ceiling.