New Delhi: Telangana is set to implement the SC Categorisation Act from April 14, 2025. During the final meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on SC Categorisation held at the Secretariat on Sunday, April 13, Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and other officials thoroughly reviewed the implementation guidelines founded on the recommendations from the Justice Shamim Akhtar Commission. They gave final approval for issuing the government order.
With this act set to come into effect from April 14, Telangana will become the first state in India to implement the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) following the Supreme Court’s approval. The Telangana Legislative Assembly unanimously passed this important decision on March 18, and it thereafter received the approval of Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, allowing for its official rollout.
Additionally, the cabinet sub-committee decided against the commission’s recommendation to introduce a creamy layer within the SC category. Uttam Kumar Reddy emphasised the government’s commitment to provide unbiased benefits without excluding any sub-group based on economic criteria. He assured that no existing benefits would be diminished and that the categorisation aims to enhance fairness while protecting the rights of all SC groups.
What is SC Categorisation Act?
The Act seeks to justify the existing 15 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) by categorizing 59 SC sub-castes into three groups based on their relative levels of backwardness.
- Group 1 consists of 15 of the most disadvantaged communities, representing 3.288 per cent of the SC population, and is allocated a 1 per cent reservation.
- Group 2 includes 18 moderately advantaged communities, which account for 62.74 per cent of the SC population, and is assigned a 9 per cent reservation.
- Group 3 comprises 26 relatively better-off communities, making up 33.963 per cent of the SC population, and receives a 5 per cent reservation.
