New Delhi, June 19 -- The composition of the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota for India's civil services exams was not limited to the poor alone, an investigation by The Indian Express found. Many were traced back to families with better financial backgrounds, from alumni of private schools in Delhi charging over Rs 1 lakh per year in fees, to IIT graduates and children of businessmen.

The reservation quota, introduced in 2019 through the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, provides a 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for candidates belonging to the "general category" who fall under the economically weaker sections as per the income and asset criteria.

A family with an annual income of Rs 8 lakh ...