New Delhi: The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) on Tuesday submitted its report to the government, recommending an income level limit of Rs.460,000 a year to define the 'creamy layer', or the better-off, among the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Commission chairman Justice (retd) S.R. Pandian and members Abdul Ali Azizi, Subba Somu and Ram Awadhesh Singh submitted the report to Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar.

The existing income criterion for defining the 'creamy layer' is Rs.250,000 a year.

Upholding 27 percent reservation for OBCs in higher educational institutions, the Supreme Court in April asked the government to keep the 'creamy layer' out of the ambit of the quota.

Earlier this month, the NCBC had invited suggestions from the state backward classes commissions before preparing its report. IANS