The Telangana government has officially implemented the Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservations) Act, 2025, through a gazette notification declaring April 14, 2025, as the effective date for the classification of Scheduled Castes (SC) into three distinct groups.
With this move, Telangana has become the first state in the country to enforce sub-categorisation of SCs following the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict on August 1, 2024. The apex court upheld the constitutional validity of grouping SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to extend targeted quotas for the most disadvantaged segments within these communities.
In forming these categories, the State considered the Supreme Court’s judgment, along with empirical data and indicators such as the communities’ social, educational, employment, political, and economic status. According to the classification, 15 sub-castes deemed most backward have been placed in Group-I, receiving 1% reservation—despite forming just 0.5% of the population—to improve their access to education and jobs.
A total of 18 sub-castes that had previously seen limited benefits will now be part of Group-II with 9% reservation, while 26 sub-castes, identified as relatively more advanced, have been moved to Group-III with 5% reservation.
The Cabinet sub-committee, led by Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and co-chaired by Health Minister C. Damodar Rajanarsimha, presented the first copy of the notification to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on April 14. According to Mr. Rajanarsimha, 33 of the 59 SC sub-castes remain in their existing categories, while only 26 sub-castes—representing 3.43% of the SC population—have been reassigned.
He further stated that future recruitment for government jobs will follow this revised categorisation. However, it will not apply to vacancies already announced. He urged SC youth to seize this opportunity.
The government also signaled plans to increase reservation levels for SCs based on updated data from the 2026 Census.