Cabinet nod for Equal Opportunity Commission & Coal Regulator

The Union Cabinet approved the creation of Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), to check discrimination of minority communities in jobs and education. 

About Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC)

• Exclusively for minorities.
• Mandate: To ensure that no minority community is discriminated against on religious grounds by redressing complaints.
• Deal with grievances viz. denial of accommodation or buying rights to minorities in housing societies.
• Has to make binding recommendations that people from minority communities find adequate representation in government employment or educational institutions.
• The Justice Sachar Committee that went into the socio-economic backwardness of Muslims had recommended setting up of the Commission.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) also gave its nod to the proposal to set up coal regulator. The coal regulator would be

• Set up through an executive order.
• Empowered to specify the principles and methodology for determination of price of raw coal and washed coal and any other by-product generated during washing.
• Also regulate methods for testing for declaration of grades or quality of coal, specify procedure for automatic coal sampling and adjudicate upon disputes between the parties. The bill for setting up a regulator for the sector is pending before Parliament.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2014