What is meant by Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer?

In terms of Indian - politics, creamy layer is the term applied to refer to the relatively forward and better educated members of other backward classes not eligible for the government sponsored educational and professional benifits programmes.
Creamy layer is the special status whereupon the income exceeding above the prescribed annual income, the creamy layers would not be eligible for any type of concession.
In case, the total family income is more than 8 lakhs, the family would be categorised as OBC creamy layers as such the members would not be entitled to OBC benifits. It would be better for such members to fill up the form as General- candidates.
Non creamy layers-
If the total family income is less than eight lakhs per annum, the member would get a certificate of OBC Noncreamy layer and as such the members are entitled for the benifits prescribed to them including the relaxation of age.

Yes. For any examination including JEE , there is reservation of cast and in particular while paying fees if you don't have Non Creamy Layer certificate then you will have to pay full fees. So plan accordingly.

Creamy layer comes under other the backward classes (OBCs) that include better educated and wealthy members. These peoples ate are not eligible for government-sponsored educational and professional benefit schemes.

On the other hand non-creamy layer are the people who are underprivileged and their income is less than eight lakhs per annum. For them Government of India has several scheme. Besides, they receive reservation in educational institutions and jobs. Central government has listed OBC Non Creamy Layer. People who come under this category receive reservation.

Further, Central Government also issues a certificate to these people (OBC-NCL). The main purpose of this categorization is to uplift the most worthy candidates among backward classes.

Several things are considered while issuing OBC Non-Creamy Layer:
1. Income of the person's combined family should be less than 8 lakh per annum.
2. If the person's parents are/were employed under central government i.e. Group 'C' or Group 'D'. He/she is eligible to apply for the OBC-NCL.
3. If a person is employed in Central government Group B category job. Than he/she is eligible to apply for the certificate.
4. If the husband of a woman is employed in the Central government job then she is eligible to apply for the OBC-NCL certificate.

But there are some non-eligibility conditions such as:
a) Some of the Backward caste (BC) and Most backward caste (MBC) are not eligible.
b) If parents of any candidate are employed under Group A services like IPS, IAS, and IFS he/she will not be eligible.
c) Similarly, if parents of a candidate are working under Group 1 job of the State Government he /she is not eligible to apply.
d) If parents are working under Group B and C of the Central Government that candidate is also not eligible.
e) If parents' income exceeds 8 lakhs, in that case they are not eligible to apply for OBC-NCL certificate.

In India, there are reservations in employment and there are reservations in educational institutes.
Some reservations are based on caste. They are for SCs, STs, and BCs. The other castes which are not included in the castes are known as Other castes. They are not eligible for any reservations.

There are some reservations purely based on financial positions. Irrespective of caste-based on their income levels there will some reservations. The government will give them additional benefits.

The third variety of reservations are OBC reservations. They are based on both caste and Income. Backward classes that are not included in any of the four categories of BCs are called OBCs. These families who are having more than 8 lakhs income per annum are not eligible for any reservations. These people are known as a creamy layer. The same caste persons whose income is less than eight lakhs per annum are called the Noncreamy layer and they will be given some special reservations. So these certificates are useful for getting seats in educational institutes. These reservations are applicable for JEE examinations also.

Out of all the reserved categories, OBC (Other Backward Classes) is of the categories. The concept of Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer is applicable to only OBC category and to to other categories like SC/ST. This differentiation is based on the fact that some of the OBC category people are wealthy and rich enough to support themselves and do not require any reservation. So, if a OBC person is educationally, socially and financially well off there is no point in extending the benefit to him. This lead to the evolution of the terms Creamy layer and the Non-creamy layer OBC.

In essence, the OBC creamy layer is treated as a part of the General Category and hence not entitled for any reservation benefit. The criterion of the OBC creamy layer is based on the income of the parents/household and presently stands at a threshold of Rs 8 lakhs per year. So, if the income is above Rs 8 lakhs they would not be entitled for the reservation benefits.

A person belonging to the non creamy layer OBC category has to get a certificate to that extent from the designated authority in his area to avail the benefit of the same in any admission process (like JEE) or job application.

In India, we know that there are many religions and castes. Every religion and caste have a reservation depending upon various aspects. Other Backward Class or "OBC" is a collective term used by the government to categories the caste that is backward socially and educationally. Other Backward Class is again parted into two categories OBC creamy layer (OBC-CL) and OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL). It is also to be noted that the Scheduled Classes (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST) are not the same as Other Backward Class (OBC) and are different.

Q. What is the meaning of the Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer?
Ans: The layers that we are about to talk is based on the total income of the family or parents added together excluding any income from farming or agriculture. It is also to note that "Income" means the income of the parents and not of the applicant.

i) OBC creamy layer (OBC-CL): When the income(from other sources) of the family when added together is above Rs. 8 Lakhs per annum, excluding Income from salary and agriculture, they fall in the "Creamy Layer" category. This can be treated as equivalent to the general category. Normally, very few or no benefits of the government scheme, seat quota and examination are received under this category.

ii) OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL): When the total household income(from other sources) is below Rs. 8 Lakhs per annum, excluding Income from salary and agriculture, they fall in the "Non-Creamy Layer" category. Every benefit of the government schemes, seats and competitive examination can be availed by the OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL) holder.

Q. When is the non-creamy layer certification required?
Ans: There are many schemes and programs along with additional quotas that are provided by both the government (Central Government and State Governments) to uplift Other Backward Classes (OBC) and to avail their benefits, the non-creamy layer certification required. Some of the benefits are:
- There is upper age limit relaxation for the various exams which includes Civil Services Exam(UPSC), entrance exams, etc.
- There are some attempts of relaxation for various examinations.
- There is cut-off marks relaxation in many exams, colleges, institutes and even competitive exams.
- There are 27% seat quotas in Government Jobs and institutes like IAS, IPS, IIT, etc.

Q. Who has the authority to issue the OBC Non-Creamy Layer Certificate?
Ans: The procedures and authority may differ from state to state but usually, the Tahsildar of the concerned State has the authority to issue the OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL) Certificate. The eligible person which is determined by the Income/Wealth Test criteria can apply for the OBC certificate either in online or offline mode and may take nearly 30 to 35 days for the caste certificate to be issued.

Q. What is the validity of an OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL) Certificate?
Ans: The OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL) Certificate is based on the income earned covering 3 preceding financial years and its validity is usually treated like 1 year. Thus it is always good to get a new OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL) Certificate before applying for schemes, exams or government jobs and either keep a translated copy of the certificate in either English or Hindi from a legal translator.

Q. Who all can get OBC Reservation or certificate?
Ans: The Central Government has a list of castes or communities which differ for a state to state and if your caste or community is mentioned there, you can apply under the OBC quota provided you have the certificate and fall under the OBC non-creamy layer (OBC-NCL) category. If your castes or communities are listed in the Central List of OBCs maintained by the Central Government, you can apply either online or by offline mode along with the following documents like Community certificate, School Leaving Certificate, Ration Card and Income Certificate excluding the salary and agriculture income i.e after the the "Income/Wealth Test" procedure.

1. What is the meaning of the Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer?

Creamy Layer means the people having income more than INR Eight Lakhs in the financial year and persons whose income is less than INR Eight Lakhs in the financial year called Non-Creamy Layer.

2. Is one's annual income the base for determining Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer?. When is the non-creamy layer certification required?

Yes, More than INR Eight Lakhs called Creamy Layer and Less than INR Eight Lakhs call Non-Creamy Layer.

3. Does Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer applicable for JEE Main and JEE Advanced entrance examinations.

Yes, it is applicable and needs to declare that any is belonging to Creamy Layer or Non-Creamy Layer in JEE Main and JEE Advanced Entrance Examinations.

Creamy layer word is used in Indian politics which means economically strong people comes under creamy layer. People whose income is more than 8 lakh per annum.
They are not considered eligible for government-sponsored educational and professional benefit programs. The term was introduced by the Sattanathan Commission in 1971, which made provision that the "creamy layer" should not be included in reservations. Whereas, The Non-Creamy Layer is also known as the Other Backward Class Certificate. Those people whose annual income is less than 8 lakh per annum belong to the non-creamy layer.
Yes, Creamy Layer and Non-Creamy Layer is applicable for JEE Main and JEE Advanced entrance examinations. You must declare your criteria to which you belong to.

Earlier, the creamy layer term was used only for OBC castes, under which OBCs are used for those who are relatively more prosperous or financially strong. This term was first used by the Sattanathan Commission in the year 1971, which said that reservation should not be given to people who are financially rich in government jobs.

OBC creamy layer became a term for the educated and affluent people of the community, but when it came time to implement it, it was considered a measure of family income. The range of its scale was changed from time to time -
In 1993, when the creamy layer was introduced, families with more than 1 lakh annual income were included in it.
Later in the year 2004, it was increased from 1 lakh to 2.5 lakh.
In 2008 it increased from 2.5 to 4.5 lakhs.
In 2013, this scale was fixed at 6 lakhs.
In 2017, it was changed again and it was fixed to 8 lakhs.

In 2015, the National Commission for Backward Classes proposed that the ceiling should be increased to 15 lakhs. The Commission had then advocated creating a category among OBC castes as well. The Commission had said that OBC castes should also have subdivisions -
The categories of Backward, More Backward, and Extremely Backward should be created and the quota of 27 percent should be distributed based on need in all these.

The SC / ST community was kept out of the creamy layer until 30 September 2018. But after this, this community also came under the purview of the creamy layer. However, the creamy layer has not been used in this community on an economic basis. Backwardness and untouchability have been made the basis for these castes. Apart from this, it is also used on reservations in promotion.