HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL RESERVATION

HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL RESERVATION

Subject: Polity

Context: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has questioned the legislative competence of State governments to enact laws which provide horizontal reservation to government school students in medical admissions every year.

Concept:

• There are two types of reservations, which may be referred to as ‘vertical reservations’ and ‘horizontal reservations’.
• The reservations in favour of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes [(under Article 16(4)] may be called vertical reservations.
• Whereas reservations in favour of physically handicapped, Women , Ex-servicemen etc (under clause (1) of Article 16] can be referred to as horizontal reservations.
• The percentage of reservation allotted to Horizontal reservation categories should be adjusted against percentage of SC/ST/ OBC and General categories in vertical reservation.
• Horizontal reservations cut across the vertical reservations – what is called interlocking reservations.