UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — How did the SC read the OBC creamy layer test?

Q1. Which one of the following is the primary regulatory instrument used by the Union Government for determining the 'creamy layer' among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs)?

  • A. Office Memorandum of the Department of Personnel and Training dated 8 September 1993
  • B. National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993
  • C. Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018
  • D. Report of the Second Backward Classes (Mandal) Commission, 1980

Q2. In the context of reservation policy in India, the expression 'creamy layer' refers to:

  • A. The relatively advanced sections within the Other Backward Classes who are excluded from the benefit of reservation
  • B. Any household belonging to an OBC whose annual income exceeds the prescribed threshold in any single year
  • C. OBC sub-castes that have been formally removed from the Central List of Backward Classes by Parliament
  • D. Forward-caste groups that are statutorily barred from claiming reservation under Articles 15(4) and 16(4)

Q3. As per the Department of Personnel and Training's Office Memorandum of September 1993, how many distinct categories are specified for identification of the 'creamy layer' among the Other Backward Classes?

  • A. Four
  • B. Five
  • C. Six
  • D. Eight

Q4. The doctrine of 'creamy layer', as a constitutionally mandated exclusion within reservations for the Other Backward Classes, was first laid down by the Supreme Court of India in which one of the following cases?

  • A. M.R. Balaji v. State of Mysore (1962)
  • B. State of Kerala v. N.M. Thomas (1976)
  • C. Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992)
  • D. Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union of India (2008)