New Delhi, Feb 25 (IANS) The central government has decided to introduce reservations for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students in undergraduate medical and dental courses at the national level from this year. Announcing this Monday, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said reservations were introduced last year for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students undertaking post-graduate courses.

“This year we have approved reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students in undergraduate medical and dental courses,” Ramadoss told reporters here.

“This will be applicable from this academic year,” he said. About 310 Scheduled Castes and 155 Scheduled Tribes students will benefit from this year.

Following the new policy, about 1,184 students from the two categories will benefit in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

The courses are offered under an all-India entrance examination, which are conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The board will be conduct the preliminary test April 6 and the final May 11.

The ministry took the decision after the Supreme Court, hearing an application in this regard filed by it, left the policy matter to the central government.

Fifteen percent reservations have been sanctioned for the Scheduled Castes and 7.5 percent for the Scheduled Tribes.

Seats in the government-run medical and dental colleges across the country that are under the countrywide quota are filled up on the basis of the all-India entrance examination. Before the policy was introduced, seats were filled up only on the basis of merit.

The state governments, however, were adopting reservations for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates as per the state policy under their own quota.

A total of 15 percent of seats in all state government colleges are set aside for the all-India entrance exams for MBBS and BDS courses.

Ramadoss said the ministry was able to carve out these seats as it got them from the state quota.