Government bodies will follow new sub-categorisation for admissions and recruitment
Hyderabad:The state government is set to implement reservations in education and employment for Scheduled Castes (SC) communities as per the new SC sub-categorisation from April, according to official sources. To provide legal backing for this initiative, the state government will pass a law in the upcoming Budget session of the Assembly in March.
Following the approval of the SC sub-categorisation report in the Legislative Assembly, the government has taken swift measures to facilitate its implementation.
The Telangana Council of Higher Education has been instructed to begin accepting applications for Common Entrance Tests (CETs) for professional courses, including engineering, medical, MBA, and MCA, for the academic year 2025-26. Applications from SC candidates will be processed based on the new sub-categorisation, ensuring that reservations align with the new classification during admissions counseling after June.
Similarly, the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) has been directed to issue fresh job notifications in accordance with the SC sub-categorisation. Recruitment notifications had been halted since October 2024 to accommodate these changes. Under the revised system, TGPSC will allocate posts using roster points, ensuring that specific job positions are earmarked for particular SC sub-castes.
This move follows a landmark Supreme Court judgment in August 2024, which permitted states to sub-categorise SCs within the 15 per cent reservation quota for education and employment. In response, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s Congress-led government constituted a one-man commission in October 2024, headed by retired High Court judge Justice Shameem Akhtar. The commission was tasked with studying the Supreme Court verdict and recommending a framework for implementing SC sub-caste reservations.
The commission submitted its report to the state government on February 3, which was subsequently tabled by the Chief Minister in the Legislative Assembly and got it approved by a voice-vote. The report categorised the 59 SC sub-castes into three groups based on economic profiles, namely Group I (most disadvantaged) one per cent quota, covering 15 sub-castes, Group II (moderately benefited) nine per cent quota, covering 18 sub-castes and Group III (most benefited) five per cent quota, covering 26 sub-castes.
