8 months ago
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The Andhra Pradesh State Assembly has passed a Bill to instrumentality sub-classification among the State’s 59 Scheduled Castes, aiming to guarantee a fairer organisation of preservation benefits successful acquisition and nationalist employment.
Tabling the Bill connected Tuesday, Dola Sree Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, Minister for Social Welfare, Disabled, and Senior Citizen Welfare, said the measurement seeks to beforehand fairness and equitable entree to opportunities for each Scheduled Castes successful the State.
Currently, Scheduled Castes are entitled to a 15% preservation successful nationalist assemblage jobs and acquisition institutions. The Bill aligns with law provisions nether Articles 14 to 16 and Directive Principles of State Policy nether Articles 38, 39, 41, and 46, which emphasise societal justice, equality of opportunity, and protective measures for socially and educationally backward communities.
Under the projected classification, Group I – Most Backward (12 castes) volition person 6.5% of the 15% reservation, Group II – Backward (18 castes) volition person 7.5%, and Group III (29 castes) volition person 1%.
The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Sub-classification) Ordinance, 2025, was promulgated by the Governor connected April 16, 2025, and published successful the Andhra Pradesh Gazette connected April 17, 2025. The recently introduced Bill seeks to regenerate the ordinance and formalise these provisions done legislative approval.
This determination follows a landmark Supreme Court judgement successful W.P. Civil Appeal No. 2317 of 2011 and related petitions, delivered connected August 1, 2024, successful which a seven-judge bench, by a 6:1 majority, upheld the constitutionality of sub-classification wrong Scheduled Castes. In response, the Andhra Pradesh authorities appointed a One-Man Commission, led by Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, IAS (Retd.), nether the COI Act, to urge sub-classifications among the State’s Scheduled Caste sub-groups. The authorities has approved these recommendations.
