NEW DELHI -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration aims to reserve 10% of government jobs and academic admissions for poorer members of India's upper castes, a move critics call a "political gimmick" to woo voters ahead of the general elections due by May.
The quota likely benefits Brahmins and Rajputs, top Hindu castes seen as a key voting bloc for Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Households earning up to 800,000 rupees ($11,380) yearly are expected to qualify.
