SC/ST quota medical seats in Karnataka see sharp decline after reconfiguration of reservation matrix

The Karnataka government has reduced the number of medical seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes after reconfiguring its reservation matrix. In 2025-2026, 953 seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes and 392 for Scheduled Tribes out of a total of 5,609 government seats. For the 2026-2027 academic year, these numbers have decreased to 906 and 182 seats respectively, bringing the total to 6,045 seats.

Initially, SC and ST students had 17% and 7% reservation respectively, starting from 2023-2024. However, due to a case against the increased reservation in recruitment being heard in the High Court of Karnataka, the government reverted to 15% and 3% reservation for SC and ST communities from 2026-2027. The community estimates that STs will lose about 2,800 posts and SCs will lose about 1,400 in the ongoing recruitment.

The government has stated that the exact number of posts to be retained will be decided after the court ruling. This decision comes after the BJP government, based on recommendations from the H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission, increased SC reservation to 17% and ST reservation to 7% in 2022. The Supreme Court had set a 50% cap on overall reservation, which was breached by Karnataka's increased reservation.

The Minister for Scheduled Tribes Welfare acknowledged the decline and stated that some people have miscalculated the total number of seats. The community is fighting the reduction in reservation, arguing for its retention and the implementation of reservation for SC/ST according to their population.