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The Karnataka caste census report was presented in the cabinet meeting chaired by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The report recommends increasing the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 32 per cent to 51 per cent. In 2020, the BJP-led Karnataka government appointed Jayaprakash Hegde as the head of the Caste Census Commission, but the report was not made public.
Hegde submitted the final report to the Siddaramaiah government in February 2024. According to the report, the Jayaprakash Hegde Commission has also recommended restructuring of the classification within the OBC category. The Siddaramaiah government will take a decision on the commission’s recommendations on April 17. Some communities of category 1 and 2A will be moved to category 1B.
The report recommends creation of Category 1A and Category 1B instead of the existing Category 1:
Category 1A: 6 per cent reservation
Category 1B: 12 per cent reservation
Category 2A: 10 per cent reservation
Category 2B: 8 per cent reservation
Category 3A: 7 per cent reservation
Category 3B: 8 per cent reservation
According to the report, the aim of these changes is to ensure more accurate and equitable distribution of reservation.
At present, the reservation structure in Karnataka is as follows:
Category 1: 4 per cent
Category 2A: 15 per cent
Category 2B: 4 per cent
Category 3A: 4 per cent
Category 3B: 5 per cent
Scheduled Castes (SC): 17.15 per cent
Scheduled Tribes (ST): 6.95 per cent
Economically Weaker Sections (EWS): 10 per cent
Total Reservation: 66 per cent
The Jayaprakash Hegde Commission has recommended re-division on the basis of occupation and social status. Some castes currently included in Category 1 will be moved to Category 1A based on occupational criteria. Some communities in Category 1 and 2A will be reclassified to Category 1B based on current social conditions. The classification is based on skills, nomadic lifestyle and traditional occupations such as artisans and caste-based occupations.
The caste-wise population data from the census report is as follows:
Total population covered in caste survey: 5,98,14,942
SC population: 1,09,29,347
ST population: 42,81,289
Category 1A: 34,96,638
Category 1B: 73,92,313
Category 2A: 77,78,209
Category 2B: 75,25,880
Category 3A: 72,99,577
Category 3B: 81,37,536
The report was presented to the state cabinet in over 46 volumes. Data on various aspects of the caste survey was recorded in two CDs and given to the government.
