Impacts on employment
There has been a striking increase in the number of SC and ST government employees. The absolute number of SC employees increased from 218,000 in 1950 to 641,000 in 1991, although it fell to 540,000 in 2003 following a contraction of total government employment. The percentage of SC employees in total government employment increased from 12% in 1956 to about 16% in 2003, fairly close to their share in population. The absolute number of ST employees increased from 38,0000 in 1960 to 211,000 in 2003, which represented an increase from 2% to 6% of total government employment. The number of SC and ST employees has also increased significantly in public sector undertakings, nationalized banks, and public insurance companies. There are, however, variations between different type of jobs, and quotas are much closer to being met in lower categories of jobs. For instance, in 2003 the targets for SCs and STs in case of grade C and D jobs (lower job categories) are close to their population shares of 16% and 8%, but fall short in grade A and B jobs and also in several categories of technical jobs.