Key Highlights
- Telangana enacted the world’s first statutory sub‑categorisation of Scheduled Castes on 14 April 2025, coinciding with Dr B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
- The 15 % SC reservation is now split among three tiers of 59 sub‑castes, calibrated on indicators such as literacy, employment and population share.
- Group 1 (15 most disadvantaged castes) receives 1 % reservation, Group 2 (18 castes) 9 %, and Group 3 (26 relatively better‑off castes) 5 %.
- The framework rests on the Supreme Court’s 1 August 2024 verdict and the one‑person Shamim Akhtar Commission, which examined over 8,600 submissions.
- State officials stress that the categorisation is a transitional instrument, not a permanent fix, and future adjustments may follow the 2026 Census.
Detailed Insights
Following the Supreme Court’s endorsement of sub‑categorisation, the Telangana Assembly passed the Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalization of Reservations) Act on 18 March 2025, and the Governor gave assent on 8 April 2025. The subsequent Government Order, released on Ambedkar Jayanti, operationalises the Act. By analysing demographic data from the 2011 Census, the Act allocates the statutory 15 % quota among three groups that reflect varying degrees of social and educational backwardness. Group 1, comprising 15 castes such as Budiga Janga, accounts for roughly 3.3 % of the SC population and is allotted a 1 % reservation share. Group 2 includes 18 castes representing about 62.7 % of the SC populace, receiving the bulk 9 % quota. Group 3, with 26 castes, covers the remaining 34 % and is granted 5 %.
The categorisation criteria incorporated population size, literacy rates, employment ratios, access to education, receipt of financial assistance, and political participation. Justice Shamim Akhtar’s commission, appointed in October 2024, collected more than 8,600 representations before delivering its final report after an extended consultation period. Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha described the measure as a “tool for upliftment” rather than a definitive solution, urging parallel investments in education, skill development and industrial support. Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who chaired the concluding meeting on 13 April 2025, rejected the notion of a “creamy layer” within SCs and affirmed that existing benefits will not be diluted.
Political reactions have been mixed. CPI MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Reddy questioned the relegation of the Rella community to Group 3, while AIMIM MLA Majid Hussain advocated expanding the reservation to 18 % and creating four categories. The government, however, maintains that three groups strike the optimal balance, warning that two groups would create concentration risks and four would be administratively burdensome.
Key Concepts
- Sub‑categorisation: The process of dividing a broader reservation category into smaller, data‑driven segments to achieve a more equitable allocation of seats.
- Reservation Ceiling: The maximum proportion of seats or posts reserved for a particular socially disadvantaged group, fixed by law (15 % for SCs in Telangana).
- Backwardness Index: A composite metric that combines literacy, employment, population share and other socio‑economic indicators to rank communities.
- Creamy Layer: A term used for relatively affluent members of a reserved category who are excluded from reservation benefits; the Telangana policy explicitly rejects its application to SCs.