Rent-seeking in the name of NRI quota

The stinging rebuke that the Punjab government received from the Supreme Court over its attempt to expand eligibility under the NRI quota in medical admissions was the only expected outcome in the matter. The state government had moved to allow the wards/“nearest relatives” of NRIs to avail of the quota apart from children of NRIs, with “nearest” kin covering grandparents, maternal and paternal uncles and aunts, and even first cousins. Given the quota had been introduced to allow children of NRIs to seek higher education in India, the expanded eligibility amounted to a rent-seeking tool for the educational establishment — fees for NRI seats are typically several multiples of those charged for general category seats, and vacant NRI seats must be transferred to the general category at the fees applicable for the latter.

The implications for merit would have been severe, as the move would have allowed candidates with money to claim seats despite lower scores than non-NRI candidates by simply proving relationship with an NRI individual, which is not too hard to do in a state that sees significant international out-migration. The apex court’s rejection of the move should serve as a warning to other states that have adopted such expanded definitions of the quota.

Indeed, a harder look at the relevance of the NRI quota itself is called for. The quota facilitated higher education for children of NRIs from many Gulf nations that didn’t allow dependent visas after the age of 18 years. That is now changing, with the UAE having relaxed such a rule a couple of years ago. Equity balanced with merit must be made the lodestone for allocation of scant higher educational opportunities in the country, not mere considerations of revenue.

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