NEW DELHI, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme Court of India on Friday decided that this year's medical college admissions shall be allowed as per the prevailing reservation rules and laws.
The much-awaited judgment allowed the pending admission process to begin for post-graduate and under-graduate students into medical colleges across the country.
Present rules provide 27 percent reservation in medical seats for the students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and 10 percent reservation in medical seats for those belonging to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
The delay of the admissions is due to a dispute over revising the income criteria for the EWS, the current cap being a family income of 800,000 Indian Rupees (10,765 U.S. dollars) per year.
The delay in the counseling had triggered protests by resident doctors, especially in the national capital. The protesting doctors demanded an early hearing of the supreme court as they were "overloaded" with work amid pandemic for the past one and a half years. ■
