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What do horizontal and vertical reservation mean?
Horizontal Reservation means that certain groups like women, soldiers, transgenders and disabled people should also get the benefit of reservation. This reservation is for those communities which do not come under vertical reservation. The purpose of horizontal reservation is to provide equal opportunities to sections of society that are socially and economically backward. This reservation gives these communities a chance to participate in education, employment and political representation.
Suppose there is a horizontal reservation of 50% for women. This means that half of the candidates selected must be women. This will apply to every vertical quota. For example, if 10 people are selected from the sc quota, then 5 of them must be women. Similarly, if 20 people are selected from the general category, then 10 of them must be women.
What does vertical reservation mean?
Vertical reservation means that separate reservation is given for every group specified under the law. For example, there is separate reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST) and Other backward classes (OBC). Reservation for Scheduled Castes, scheduled tribes and Other backward classes is called vertical reservation.
Article 16(4) is an example of vertical reservation. Under this article, reservation is given in government jobs for sc, st and OBC. The purpose of vertical reservation is to provide equal opportunities to groups that are socially and economically backward. This reservation gives these groups a chance to get involved in education, employment and political representation.