Reservation in India is a constitutional affirmative action policy aimed at ensuring social justice, equal opportunity and fair representation in education and public employment.

BulletsIn

• Reservation in India provides constitutionally sanctioned quotas in government jobs, public educational institutions and legislatures to ensure representation of historically disadvantaged communities.
• Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution empower the State to create special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes and underrepresented groups.
• Currently, 15 percent reservation is allocated to Scheduled Castes, 7.5 percent to Scheduled Tribes and 27 percent to Other Backward Classes in central recruitment.
• The 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019 introduced 10 percent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections in education and government employment opportunities.
• The Supreme Court in the Indra Sawhney judgment imposed a 50 percent ceiling on caste-based reservations to maintain constitutional balance and equality.
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes benefit from reservation in promotions, and the creamy layer principle does not apply to these categories.
• Other Backward Classes receive reservation only if they fall under the non-creamy layer, preventing benefits from being concentrated among advanced sections.
• The reservation system remains under debate regarding merit, administrative efficiency, economic criteria and the need for structural reforms in contemporary India.