Special Provisions for SC, ST & OBC

📚 This topic overlaps across exams — read our in-depth, shared write-up: Constitutional Provisions for Social Justice & Empowerment of SC/ST →

📖 Where the safeguards sit in the Constitution

Provisions for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) are spread across several Articles: Article 15(4)/(5) permit reservation in education; Article 16(4)/(4A)/(4B) permit reservation in public employment, promotion and carry-forward of unfilled vacancies; Articles 330 and 332 reserve seats for SC/ST in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies; and Article 335 requires that SC/ST claims to services be considered "consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration."

🏛️ The three national commissions

The 89th Amendment (2003) split the earlier combined commission into two separate constitutional bodies: the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (Art 338) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (Art 338A). The National Commission for Backward Classes, statutory since 1993, was elevated to a constitutional body as Article 338B by the 102nd Amendment (2018). Separately, Article 340 is the basis for appointing a commission to investigate the condition of backward classes (the source of the Mandal Commission).

⚖️ The reservation ceiling

In Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992), the Supreme Court capped total reservation at 50%, barring "extraordinary circumstances". The 103rd Amendment (2019) introduced a 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) outside this cap, which the Supreme Court upheld in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India (2022).

💡 Key Facts

Art 338 (NCSC) and Art 338A (NCST) became separate constitutional bodies via the 89th Amendment (2003).
Art 338B (NCBC) became a constitutional body via the 102nd Amendment (2018).
Art 340 underpins Backward Classes commissions, including the Mandal Commission.
Indra Sawhney (1992) capped reservation at 50%; the 103rd Amendment's EWS 10% quota sits outside that cap (upheld, Janhit Abhiyan, 2022).

🔖 60-Second Revision

SC/ST/OBC safeguards: Art 15, 16, 330, 332, 335, 338, 338A, 338B, 340.
NCSC (338) & NCST (338A) — constitutional since 89th Amdt (2003).
NCBC (338B) — constitutional since 102nd Amdt (2018); Art 340 basis for Mandal-type commissions.
50% reservation ceiling (Indra Sawhney, 1992); EWS 10% (103rd Amdt, 2019) is an exception, upheld in 2022.