Abstract
Are economically weaker sections (EWS) students from the general category, who are not disadvantaged socially and educationally, underrepresented in higher education institutions in India? We examine this question by analysing a novel database of educational institutions in India, which were ranked in 2019 and 2022. The share of EWS students remains well above 10 per cent in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-ranked higher education institutions both before and after the implementation of EWS quota. Analysis of the panel data of the same institutions ranked in both 2019 and 2022 as well as the Periodic Labour Force Survey data 2019 confirms the above finding. The evidence, thus, is at odds with the justification of the EWS reservation policy.
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