NITI Aayog Panel Recommends Adding 179 Communities To SC, ST, And OBC Lists After Ethnographic Study Reclassifies 268 Tribes

In a landmark ethnographic study, the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) and Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) have, for the first time, systematically classified 268 denotified, semi-nomadic, and nomadic tribes across India.

This comprehensive three-year-long study, commissioned by a NITI Aayog panel, has brought long-overlooked communities to the forefront of India’s reservation policy.

The report recommends adding 179 communities to the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) lists at the central level. Notably, 85 of these are fresh inclusions: 46 communities are proposed for OBC status, 29 for SC status, and 10 for ST status. Uttar Pradesh leads the list with 19 new additions, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, with eight each.

Beyond fresh inclusions, the study highlights inconsistencies in existing classifications.

Nine communities have been flagged for reclassification, while many others were found to be partially included—listed only in certain states or in limited central records.

Alarmingly, 63 communities, or over 20 per cent, were deemed “not traceable,” likely assimilated into larger groups, renamed, or migrated to different regions.

The ethnographic effort, launched in February 2020, drew on expertise from TRIs in Odisha, Gujarat, and Arunachal Pradesh to conduct region-specific studies.

The fourth and final phase concluded in August 2022. Despite its completion, the findings remain under scrutiny by a NITI Aayog panel, while the Social Justice Ministry has yet to finalize its recommendations.

The report’s implications are far-reaching, especially as debates over caste-based reservations intensify in the absence of a comprehensive Census. The study could swell the SC, ST, and OBC populations, bolstering calls for revising quota percentages to reflect current demographic realities.

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