On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, Telangana became the first state in India to implement the Supreme Court-backed SC sub-categorisation. The state government announced it as a historic move towards social justice and equitable reservation for marginalised SC sub-castes.
Telangana’s Congress government issued a gazette notification that officially implemented Scheduled Caste sub-categorisation, commonly referred to as reservation within reservation. The notification divides Scheduled Castes in the state into three categories: Group I, II, and III.
According to the Gazette notification, which enacts the Scheduled Castes (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act, 2025, Group I will receive 1 percent reservation within the 15 percent quota for SCs, Group II will get 9 percent reservation, and Group III will receive 5 percent reservation. Group I includes 15 socio-economically backward castes, Group II comprises 18 castes, and Group III features 26 castes.
With this move, Telangana becomes the first state to implement SC sub-categorisation. This decision follows a ruling from a seven-judge Constitution Bench permitting further sub-classification of SCs and STs to ensure that more backward castes within these groups receive their due quotas.
The Gazette notification states that the Act received the governor’s assent on April 8.
The gazette read,
“The said assent is hereby published on April 14, 2025 in the Telangana Gazette for general information,”
Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, who administered the Cabinet sub-committee on SC sub-categorisation said,
“From this moment (of the issue of the gazette) SC categorisation will be implemented in Telangana in employment and education. We have issued a Gazette and government order to this effect. The first copy of the gazette was given to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy,”
He added,
“If the population of SCs goes up in the 2026 census, we will give reservation as per their population.”
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy wrote on X,
“Telangana is the first state in India to implement the revolutionary decision of SC sub-categorisation. We are all proud to have made history. On the highly auspicious day of the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Telangana state government paid the best tribute by bringing into force a great act of social justice, addressing a long overdue demand for classification of SC sub-castes.”
He further stated,
“Empowering and ensuring opportunities for all sections of Dalits, the state government issued a gazette notification, whose first copy was handed over to me today by the committee that undertook the historic work.”
The implementation of SC sub-categorisation was seen as a challenging task for the Congress government due to strong opposition from Malas, a sub-caste among SCs that opposed such subdivision. However, the Madigas of Telangana have been advocating for 30 years for the sub-categorisation of SCs.
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