- National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) was set up as per the NCBC Act, 1993 in pursuance to the Supreme Court judgement in the Indra Sawhney case (1992).
- It is statutory body
- The commission has five members:
- a Chairperson who is or has been a judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court;
- a social scientist;
- two persons, who have special knowledge in matters relating to backward classes; and
- a Member-Secretary, who is or has been an officer of the Central Government in the rank of a Secretary to the Government of India.
- Their term is of Three years.
- The commission considers inclusions in and exclusions from the lists of communities notified as backward for the purpose of job reservations and tenders the needful advice to the Central Government.
- It examines requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backward class in the lists of OBCs.
- It also hears complaints of under-inclusion or over-inclusion of any backward class in such lists and tenders such advice to the Union Government as it deems appropriate.
- The advice of the NCBC is ordinarily binding upon the Union Government