Hyderabad: Telangana became the first state in India on Monday to implement sub-categorisation of Scheduled Caste reservation by classifying 59 sub-castes into three groups, timing the move with Dr B R Ambedkar’s 134th birth anniversary.
The cabinet sub-committee on SC categorisation, chaired by N Uttam Kumar Reddy and with vice-chair Damodar Rajanarasimha, handed to chief minister A Revanth Reddy the first copy of the gazette notification along with the four GOs on the rules governing implementation of the Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2025.
Telangana assembly passed the SC sub-categorisation Bill on March 18, based on a seven-judge Supreme Court Constitution bench’s Aug 1, 2024, verdict upholding the validity of sub-classifications within the SC and ST categories. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma approved the bill.
According to the gazette notification, 1% reservation in education and employment has been provided to SCs in Group I (15 sub-castes); 9% to Group II (18 sub-castes); and 5% to Group III (26 sub-castes).
“The Congress govt has done what no other party could. All parties extended verbal support for SC categorisation, but none took it to implementation. We have done it legally, inclusively, and with full preparedness,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy
He said the state govt issued four GOs to legally fortify its action: GO Ms. No. 9 and GO Ms. No. 10 by the Scheduled Castes development department; GO Ms. No. 99 by the General Administration Department; and GO 39 by the law department, all dated April 14. While GO 9 notified the SC (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2025; GO 10 contained the detailed implementation rules; GO 99 issued instructions for applying these reservations in govt services; and GO 39 gave approval of the state law department.
Stressing the govt’s commitment to social justice, Damodar Rajanarasimha said: “The Congress govt completed the entire process of constituting a cabinet sub-committee, one-man commission of Justice (retd) Shameem Akther, issuing a gazette notification, and four GOs, including the rules for implementing SC categorisation, in eight months after the apex court verdict.”
The two ministers said they would meet chief secretary A Santhi Kumari and other senior officials Tuesday to discuss vacancies in all govt departments. Notifications would be issued to fill them up as per the new Act.
Both assured the SC community that the quota would be raised in line with their increased population after the 2026 census. The current sub-categorisation is based on the 2011 census.
“The group quotas include 33% reservation for women. If vacancies are not filled due to unavailability of SC candidates, they will not be given to candidates from any other community but carried forward. Efforts will be made to fill all vacancies at the earliest. The categorisation will not apply to job notifications issued by state and central govts before the Act came into force. In fact, the Congress govt has not issued any job notification after Aug 1, 2024,” Uttam Reddy said.
“Telangana is the first state in India to implement the revolutionary decision of #SCSubCategorisation. We are all proud to have made history. On the highly auspicious day of the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna, Babasaheb B R Ambedkar, the #Telangana State government paid the best tributes by bringing into force a great Act of #SocialJustice addressing a long overdue demand of classification of SC sub-castes. Empowering and ensuring opportunities for all sections of Dalits, the state govt issued a gazette notification, whose first copy was handed over to me today by the committee that undertook the historic work (sic),” CM Revanth Reddy wrote on X.