Hyderabad: Telangana has become the first state in the country to implement the Supreme Court's directive on the sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SCs).

The state government has officially enforced the Telangana Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act, 2025, which divides the existing 15 per cent SC reservations into three groups based on population size and socio-economic indicators.

The Telangana Legislative Assembly had earlier passed the Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservation) Bill, 2025, enabling sub-categorisation within the SC reservations. With Governor Jishnu Dev Varma recently giving his assent, the government issued orders implementing the Act on Monday. Cabinet Sub-Committee Chairman on SC Categorisation N Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the sub-categorisation move fulfilled a long-standing demand of the SC community. According to the new categorization, Group 1 has been allotted 1% reservation, Group 2 will receive 9%, and Group 3 has been granted 5%.

These reservations add up to the existing 15% quota earmarked for SCs in the state. The SC community in Telangana comprises 59 sub-castes.

“Group 1 consists of 15 castes, comprising 3.2% of the SC population. Group 2 includes 18 castes, making up 62.74%, and Group 3 consists of 26 castes, accounting for 33.96%,” explained Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy.

He also clarified that the new reservation system will not apply to job notifications already issued by the government and the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC).

Cabinet Sub-Committee member and State Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha emphasized that the categorisation was based on social backwardness and aimed at providing preferential treatment to historically disadvantaged SC communities.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, “Telangana is the first state in India to implement the revolutionary decision of SC sub-categorisation. We are proud to have made history. On the auspicious occasion of Bharat Ratna Dr B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, the Telangana government has paid the greatest tribute by enacting a historic measure of social justice.”

He added that the state government had issued a gazette notification, and the first copy was handed over to him by the committee responsible for the initiative.