Ahmedabad, Jan 14: The BJP-led Gujarat government on Monday implemented 10 per cent reservation in state government jobs and education for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category.

With this, Gujarat has become the first state in the country to implement the new provision.

The constitutional amendment to provide the 10 per cent quota was approved by Parliament last week and had received assent of President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday announced that his government will implement the reservation provision from January 14.

"Happy to state that the Government of Gujarat has decided to implement 10% EWS reservation benefits from 14th January, 2019. It will be implemented in all ongoing recruitment process too wherein there is only advertisement published but first stage of examination is yet to held," he said in a tweet.

"The economically weaker sections from the general category will get 10 per cent reservation in admissions to higher education and government jobs starting Uttarayan on January 14," the state government had said in a release.

The new quota will also be implemented in admissions and jobs which were advertised before January 14 but for which the actual process has not started, it said.

In such cases, fresh announcement about the admission process or jobs will have to be made, it further said.

However, if the recruitment or admission process -- tests or interviews -- has started before January 14, the 10 per cent quota would not apply, the release added.

Soon after the announcement, Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) chairman Dinesh Dasa said they would suspend "all the preliminary exams" which were scheduled to be held on January 20.

"In view of the announcements made by the state government, we have decided to defer the GPSC preliminary exams which were to be held on January 20. The exams will be rescheduled and announced after the certificates are issued to the new reservation beneficiaries," Dasa said.

The Gujarat Congress, however, criticised the government's decision to implement the quota, saying it was done in a hurry as January 14 was a holiday on account of the Uttarayan festival.

State Congress president Amit Chavda said the announcement will create confusion among candidates preparing for various upcoming examinations.

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New Delhi (PTI): A 23-year-old woman was found dead in her house in Delhi's Prem Nagar area, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, an official said on Tuesday.

The deceased, identified as Anjali Singh, was found motionless in her room on Monday by her sister and her neighbour.

Police said her father, Vinod Kumar Singh (51), told them that he and his wife were away at work at the time of the incident, while their son and the other daughter were also not at home at the time of the incident.

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According to the family, the room in which Anjali was found was locked from the inside. The door was later forcibly opened by a neighbour and her sister with the help of a crowbar.

Her body was found lying on the bed inside the room, police said.

Preliminary inquiry revealed that Anjali had allegedly hanged herself using a piece of cloth tied to the ceiling fan.

It is suspected that the noose eventually might have loosened or torn off, resulting in her being found lying on the bed.

Family members informed the police that Anjali was a final-year student of a librarian science course from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). About a week ago, her final-year examination results were declared, and she had failed, following which she had been under depression, they said.

The family has not raised any allegation of foul play, police said, adding that no suicide note or external injury marks were found on the body during the initial inspection.

Inquest proceedings have been initiated in the matter as per the law. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, and further investigation is underway, police added.