The 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019 introduced a new dimension to the principle of affirmative action in India. Critically examine its implications for the broader goal of social justice. (Answer in 250 words)

103rd Constitutional Amendment 2019 was adopted to uplift economically weaker sections of India by providing 10% reservations in public employment and educational institutions. It was added to Article 16(4) and 16(4). New Dimension to Principle of Affirmative Action: (1) Historically social backwards were taken as a criteria under Right to equality. Hence, reservation based on social status ← SC, ST, OBC (2) A new dimension of backwardness i.e. category with income below Rs 8 lakh which goes beyond socio-political boundaries

Implications for Broader Goal of Social Justice: (1) Meets the spirit of preamble which entails equal, political and economic justice (2) Interlinkss economic disadvantage to social disadvantage (3) Poverty as multi-dimensional concept (4) Definite criteria for availing reservation i.e. Income below Rs 8 lakh (5) Exemptions to exclude certain public offices to ensure targeted affirmative action. Issues with EWS: (1) Blanket criteria of Rs 8 lakh earner nationality and not based on evidence (2) Rising misuse and frauds of EWS category (3) Economic Backwardness is natural progression of market economy and cannot be curtailed. Way Forward: (1) Technology Integration for Robust validation of income. B AI, ML to detect frauds (2) Dynamic criteria of income based on inflation (3) Gradual Phase down of Reservation until Bharat @ 2047

Issues with EWS: (1) Blanket criteria of Rs 8 lakh earner nationality and not based on evidence (2) Rising misuse and frauds of EWS category B DoPT bench notice to 2023 civil servant for availing EWS (3) Economic Backwardness is natural progression of market economy and cannot be curtailed. Way Forward: (1) Technology Integration for Robust validation of income B AI, ML to detect frauds (2) Dynamic criteria of income based on inflation (3) Gradual Phase down of Reservation until Bharat @ 2047 To meet the constitutional mandate of welfare state under Part IV, lost CA is a step in right direction continuous inclusion is need of the hour to assess effectiveness