Tamil Nadu Timeline

Social ReformMGR era

Income ceiling withdrawn, backward class quota raised to 50%

· Chennai

After electoral setbacks, the MGR government withdrew the income ceiling and raised the backward class quota from 31% to 50%.

Following the AIADMK's poor showing in the January 1980 Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu, the government withdrew the income ceiling order on 21 January 1980. At the same time it raised the reservation quota for backward classes to 50 percent. With the existing quota for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, total reservation in the state rose to 68 percent. The decision was welcomed by the Dravidar Kazhagam, which then backed the AIADMK in the 1980 assembly election.

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  2. 1969

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  3. 1971

    1. 1971ChennaiSocial Reform

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      The DMK government raised the backward classes quota from 25 to 31 percent and the SC/ST quota from 16 to 18 percent.

  4. 1979

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      The MGR government introduced an annual income ceiling to exclude better-off families from backward class reservation.

  5. 1989

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      Separate 20% quota for Most Backward Classes

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  6. 1994

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