India, March 11 -- The state government has issued 2,88,179 Kunbi certificates based on documents collated by a committee constituted under Justice (Retd) Sandeep Shinde, following the agitation led by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil in August-September last year.

This signals the inclusion of 2.8 lakh Maratha families whose Kunbi certificates were approved in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota, making them eligible for OBC reservations in government jobs and educational institutions.

The cabinet sub-committee appointed for Maratha reservations under water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil held a meeting last week to take stock of the issuance of these certificates. According to data furnished before the committ...