Amaravati

Andhra Pradesh on Thursday issued an ordinance on sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes (SC) classifying them into three groups in government jobs and education in the state.

"The Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes (Sub-classification) Ordinance, 2025 will be published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette in English, Telugu and Urdu Languages as Andhra Pradesh Ordinance No. 2 of 2025," a Law Department Order said.

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on April 15, approved an ordinance proposal to sub-categorise SCs into three groups with varying percentages of reservations in the total 15 per cent.

Aimed at uplifting SCs, 59 castes have been divided into three groups. As many as 12 castes, such as Chandala, Paki, Relli, Dome and other castes, are in Group-I, with one per cent reservation, the state government had earlier said.

With a reservation of 6.5 per cent, Group – II includes the castes of Chamar, Madiga, Sindhola, Matangi and others, while Group – III with 7.5 per cent includes Mala and its sub-castes, along with Adhi Andhra, Panchama and others.

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"With this ordinance, all Scheduled Castes in Andhra Pradesh will receive equal justice in education and employment," an official release had earlier said.

The Supreme Court last year, in a judgment, allowed states to make sub-classification of SCs and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for granting quotas inside the reserved categories.