Hyderabad: Nearly half of all Scheduled Caste workers in Telangana are daily wage labourers. Among General Caste workers, it is barely one in 10. An OC Brahmin is thirty-eight times less likely to be working as an agricultural labourer than an ST Kolam. And of the 5,302 people in the state who own a medium or large business, 12 per cent come from just one community — OC Komatis.
These are the occupation and income findings of the Telangana government’s Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey 2024, a door-to-door census of 3.55 crore people across 242 castes, analysed by an Independent Expert Working Group (IEWG).
What the data shows, across 10 occupation indicators and five income parameters, is an economic hierarchy that is close to the social one – one that has not changed despite decades of reservation, welfare spending and stated policy intent.
The IEWG computed a Composite Occupation Backwardness Index for the state’s four broad social groups. General Castes score 7, the least backward. Backward Classes (BC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) both score 21. Scheduled Castes (SC) score 23.
The higher the score, the more backwards a community is.
“The kind of work a community predominantly engages in reflects not just their economic position but also their access to education, skill development, capital, and social mobility,” the report said.
Daily wage labour – jobs that are informal with no job security or social protection – is the economic floor on which a disproportionate share of marginalised communities stands.
Of all working-age individuals (21–65) surveyed, 31.3 per cent reported being daily wage workers. Among SCs, 45.7 per cent daily wage workers. Among STs, 40.6 per cent. BCs come in at 32.1 per cent, slightly above the state average. General Castes are at 10.9 per cent.
Across the 56 major castes, the range runs from BC-A Oddes, where 55.6 per cent of the working-age population is in daily wage work, to OC Brahmins, where the figure is 2.6 per cent.
The survey also found about 89,000 people below the age of 18 working as daily wage labourers, indicating child labour. Of these, 14 per cent belong to the SC Madiga community and 11 per cent to ST Lambadis, the two largest communities among child workers. Child labour is highest among STs at 1.8 per cent and SCs at 1.2 per cent, against 0.2 per cent among General Castes.
Agricultural labour – seasonal, low-paid jobs – is the rural counterpart of urban daily wage work.
Across the state, 19.4 per cent of working-age individuals are agricultural labourers. Among STs, 32.9 per cent work in agricultural labour. Among SCs, 31.7 per cent. BCs are at 18.5 per cent, close to the state average, and General Castes at 5.5 per cent.
At the caste level, the numbers more stark. More than half, 50.4 per cent, of ST Kolam’s working-age population works in agricultural labour, the highest of any community. SC Madiga, SC Beda and SC Mala Sale are also well above the state average. OC Brahmins are at 0.7 per cent.
The dependency on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the government’s rural employment guarantee scheme, is highest among SCs at 1.7 per cent and STs at 1.2 per cent, against 0.3 per cent among General Castes. OC Brahmins, OC Rajus, OC Jains and OC Kammas register near-zero participation.
At the caste level, SC Mala Sale records the highest MGNREGA dependence at a share of 2.4 per cent. About 20 per cent of all MGNREGA workers in Telangana are from the SC Madiga community, while about 10 per cent are from BC-D Mudiraj.
About 6.8 per cent of Telangana’s population still reports working in ancestral, caste-linked occupations, with the highest among BCs at 10.4 per cent.
The highest continuation rates are found in menial service and artisanal occupations among BC-A Rajaka (washing clothes), BC-A Nayi-Brahmin (barbering), BC-A Agnikulakshatriya (fishing), BC-B Vadrangi (carpentry), BC-B Padmasali (weaving) and BC-B Blacksmith. STs record the lowest continuation rate at 1.1 per cent, in part because tribal communities do not have the same structured caste-based occupational identities.
Among SC, 3 per cent continue traditional occupations and among General Castes, 2 per cent.
Government employment is where affirmative action has produced the most visible, if limited, results.
Across Telangana, 2.8 per cent of working-age individuals are in professional government jobs. SCs and STs are each at 2.4 per cent. BCs are at 2.3 per cent. General Castes are at 3.5 per cent.
Within the 56 major castes, the OC Iyengar/Iyer community records nearly 17 per cent representation in government employment, which is over six times the state average. The IEWG said that this reflects “historical access to elite education, employment networks, and state institutions.” OC Brahmins, OC Jains, OC Rajus also show above-average representation.
BC-C SC Christians, at 7.4 per cent, and BC-A Agnikulakshatriyas and BC-A Jangams also outperform many OC communities in government jobs, suggesting that Christian missionary education and certain BC communities have found paths into government service.
At the bottom are ST Kolam, who record just 0.6 per cent. Many other SC, ST and lower BC communities fall well below the average.
The private sector, in the absence of reservation policies, has largely reproduced the caste hierarchy.
Of all working-age individuals, 7.4 per cent are in professional private sector jobs. General Castes account for 14.8 per cent, which is double the state average. STs are at 2.8 per cent, SCs at 5.6 per cent and BCs at 6.3 per cent.
OC Rajus and OC Brahmins lead with 27 per cent of their respective populations in professional private jobs, followed by OC Kapu at 24 per cent. Among Backward Classes, BC-C SC Christians stand out at 19 per cent – higher than several OC communities, including OC Iyengars and OC Komatis – reflecting the long-term educational advantage that access to Christian mission schools has conferred.
ST Kolams (0.6 per cent), ST Koyas, ST Gonds and SC Bedas are all below 2 per cent. “30% of private sector professionals are General Caste people while only 5% are Scheduled Tribes, despite their share of total population being similar,” the report said.
Of the 5,302 owners of medium or large businesses in Telangana – enterprises with turnovers exceeding Rs 10 crore – 12 per cent belong to OC Komatis and BC-E Shaikh Muslims, and 7 per cent to OC Reddys. As a proportion of their populations, only 0.004 per cent of STs and 0.01% of SCs own such enterprises. The General Caste figure is 0.06 percent, which is still marginal, but fifteen times the ST rate. At the caste level, OC Komati records the highest business ownership at 0.2 per cent.
Business ownership at this scale requires capital, networks and market access, none of which are distributed equitably along caste lines.
The income data closes the loop on what educational exclusion and occupational stratification produce over a lifetime.
Across Telangana, 78.2 per cent of the population earns below Rs 1 lakh annually. Among Scheduled Tribes, the figure is 88.2 per cent. Among Scheduled Castes, 86.2 per cent. Among Backward Classes, 80.5 per cent. Among General Castes, 56.2 per cent.
At the caste level, 95.4 per cent of ST Kolams earn below Rs 1 lakh per year. OC Brahmins are at 32.6 per cent, the lowest of any community.
Above Rs 5 lakh annually, the positions flip. Across Telangana, only 4.4 per cent of the population earns in this bracket. The General Caste share is 13.2 per cent, which is three times the state average and five times the SC and ST shares. OC Brahmins lead at 30.1 per cent of their population earning above Rs 5 lakh. ST Kolams are at 0.3 per cent.
Income tax payment shows the same gradient. The state average is 10.3 per cent. General Castes are at 23.5 per cent. BCs are at 7.9 per cent, SCs are at 6 per cent and STs at 5 per cent. Among the 56 major castes, OC Brahmins recorded the highest income tax payment at 46.1 per cent, while ST Kolams recorded the lowest at 2.5 per cent.
This post was last modified on April 21, 2026 4:59 pm