The chairman of the Oversight Committee, Veerappa Moily, has recommended splitting the expansion of quota seats and general category seats into half to enable implementation of quota in a staggered way.

He said the committee was considering creation of 13.5 per cent seats for OBCs, along with 13.5 per cent seats for the general category, in the first year and following it up with another 13.5 per cent each in both categories next year.

The suggestion is included in the interim report of the committee submitted by Moily to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

A high-level meeting, chaired by the prime minister, held discussions today on the proposed reservation in higher education for OBCs in the context of the committee's interim recommendations.

The committee has sought about Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion) for increasing seats by 54 per cent in all higher education institutions, including IITs, IIMs and medical colleges.

That is approximately the amount the Planning Commission has set aside in the 11th Five-Year Plan for implementation of the Oversight Committee's recommendations on higher education.