Hyderabad: Telangana has become the first state in India to implement the Supreme Court’s order on dividing Scheduled Castes (SCs) into sub-categories.
The state has officially brought into effect the Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act, 2025. This law splits the existing 15% SC reservation into three groups. The division is based on the population size and social and economic conditions of the SC sub-castes.
Earlier this year, the Telangana Legislative Assembly passed the SC Reservation Rationalisation Bill, 2025. After Governor Jishnu Dev Varma approved it, the government issued orders to implement the law on Monday.
N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Chairman of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on SC Categorisation, said this decision meets a long-time demand from the SC community. According to the new system, Group 1 will get 1% reservation, Group 2 will receive 9%, and Group 3 will get 5%. Together, they still make up the total 15% SC quota.
There are 59 SC sub-castes in Telangana. Group 1 includes 15 castes, which account for 3.2% of the SC population. Group 2 has 18 castes, making up 62.74%, and Group 3 has 26 castes, covering 33.96%.
Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy also clarified that the new reservation system will not affect any job notifications already released by the government or the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).
State Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha, also a member of the Cabinet Sub-Committee, said the categorisation is based on social backwardness. It is meant to give more opportunities to the most disadvantaged SC sub-groups.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy shared his thoughts on the move through a post on X (formerly Twitter). He said Telangana has made history by taking this step on the birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, calling it a true tribute to the champion of social justice.
He also mentioned that the government had released an official gazette on the new law, and the first copy was handed to him by the committee behind the initiative.
