You know it's election year when the government sets out to woo all castes and communities. The state government on Tuesday decided to appease the other backward classes (OBCs), special backward classes and denotified and nomadic tribes with sops worth Rs 736 crore.

And, while making its intentions clear, the Devendra Fadnavis government re-launched a department specially carved out of the social justice department three years ago. The departments that cabinet minister Ram Shinde heads, thus, got a comprehensive budget years after its inception.