Telangana becomes first state to implement Scheduled Castes sub-categorisation

The Telangana government on Monday notified the state Scheduled Castes Rationalisation of Reservations Act, 2025. This makes it the first state to implement a sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes groups.

On August 1, the Supreme Court had allowed the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes quotas for reservations in government jobs and education.

On the same day, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had announced that the Congress government in the state would implement a legislation on such a sub-categorisation, The New Indian Express reported.

Subsequently, a Cabinet sub-committee was constituted, which recommended the formation of a one-man commission headed by retired High Court judge, Justice Shameem Akther, to examine the categorisation of Scheduled Castes.

The commission recommended splitting 59 Scheduled Caste communities in the state into three groups within the 15% reservation allotted for government jobs and education.

Following this, the Telangana Scheduled Castes Rationalisation of Reservations Act was introduced during the recently concluded Budget Session in the state and passed on March 17.

The legislation received the governor’s assent on April 8.

The new law notified on Monday implemented the recommendation of the committee by dividing the 15% reservation into three categories based on population size and socio-economic factors.

Fifteen sub-castes within Scheduled Castes, categorised as most backward, have been classified as Group 1 with 1% reservation, The Hindu reported.

In addition, 18 sub-castes have been placed under...

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