Telangana becomes the first state to roll out SC categorisation: Breaking down the move

SC categorisation Telangana

Telangana has become the first state in India to officially implement Scheduled Caste (SC) categorisation—a move poised to reshape the landscape of reservations in jobs and education.

On Monday, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announced that the state government had issued a Government Order (GO) based on the recommendations of a commission led by retired High Court judge Justice Shameem Akther. The commission proposed dividing the 59 SC communities into three distinct groups—Group I, II, and III—to ensure more equitable distribution of the 15% reservation quota.

Here’s how the reservation will now be split:

  • Group I: 15 most disadvantaged communities – 1%
  • Group II: 18 moderately benefited communities – 9%
  • Group III: 26 relatively better-off communities – 5%

“The GO has been issued and presented to the Chief Minister. From this moment, SC categorisation is in effect across Telangana,” said Reddy, who also led the cabinet subcommittee on the issue.

Announced on Ambedkar Jayanti

The announcement was symbolic, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and a lifelong champion for Dalit rights. “This is a historic moment. Telangana is setting a precedent for the nation,” Reddy said.

He didn’t hold back in calling out previous governments for merely paying lip service to the issue. “They passed resolutions. We took action.”

What’s next?

Reddy confirmed that all future government job recruitments and education admissions will follow this new sub-categorisation model. He also added that the system is dynamic—if the SC population rises in the 2026 census, the reservation percentages will be recalibrated accordingly.

The subcommittee’s work reportedly involved months of consultations with stakeholders across the spectrum to ensure the system is fair, data-driven, and transparent.

With this move, Telangana has made history and reignited a long-standing national debate on targeted affirmative action within marginalised communities.

SC upholds quota within SC/ST quota sub-classification is permissible

The rollout comes months after the historic ruling by the Supreme Court. On August 1, 2024, a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the legality of sub-classification within Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for reservation benefits. With a 6:1 majority, the Court paved the way for more targeted and equitable affirmative action, ensuring that the most marginalized subgroups within these communities aren’t left behind.

Former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud revealed that the bench issued six separate opinions, with Justice Bela Trivedi delivering the sole dissent.

This ruling overturned the 2004 E.V. Chinnaiah judgment, which had earlier barred any form of internal categorisation among SCs and STs. The Court recognized that these communities are not monolithic and that sub-classification is essential to achieving substantive equality, rather than just formal parity.

Importantly, the Court clarified that no caste within the SC/ST category should be entirely excluded from benefits—it’s about fair distribution, not denial.

This judgment was hailed for having far-reaching implications for reservation policy across India. It empowered states to design more nuanced quota systems that address historic imbalances even within historically oppressed communities, something which Telangana has drawn on to implement its SC categorisation.

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