Bhubaneswar: April 14: Telangana has emerged as the pioneering state in the nation to undertake the classification of scheduled castes following the Supreme Court’s significant ruling on August 1 last year, which affirmed the constitutionality of sub-classifying Scheduled Castes (STs).
This decision has facilitated the allocation of distinct quotas for the most marginalised factions in these communities.
The Government of Telangana has officially announced the enactment of the Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act 2025, designating April 14, 2025, as the appointed day for the classification of Scheduled Castes (SC) into three distinct categories.
The government categorised SC communities into three groups based on the Apex Court’s ruling, empirical facts, and social, economic, educational, employment, and political standings to enforce the reservation rule.
As a result, the government designated 15 sub-castes as Group-I, giving them a 1% reservation. Despite representing only 0.5% of the population, the government opted to allocate 1% reservation to these groups to enhance educational and employment opportunities for the most disadvantaged within the SCs.
A total of 18 sub-castes out of 59 that received marginal benefits are classified under Group II with a 9% reservation, while 26 sub-castes that are comparatively better positioned in terms of opportunities are classified under Group III with a 5% reservation.
The Cabinet subcommittee, led by Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and co-chaired by Health Minister C. Damodar Rajanarsimha, presented the first copy of the gazette notification to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday, April 14, 2025. Mr Damodar Rajanarsimha stated that 33 out of 59 sub-castes remained in their previously assigned groups, while only 26 sub-castes experienced reclassification, representing 3.43% of the Scheduled Caste population.
Recruitment for government positions will henceforth be based on the categorisation of Scheduled Caste communities. Youth from these communities are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity; however, this categorisation will not apply to vacancies that have already been announced.
