Archive · 26 Aug 2026
Himachal Pradesh to Remove Caste Column From School Forms
Himachal Pradesh plans to stop asking children to write their caste on school admission forms.
The change is expected to begin in the 2027-28 school year.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said this could help children feel equal at school.
It is also intended to reduce caste-based discrimination.
Caste information will still be provided when it is needed to receive government benefits.
Parents or guardians may provide those details.
The government also offers low-interest loans for higher education.
Another planned scheme would give some very poor families free electricity and women a monthly pension.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ordered state-run schools to remove the caste column from admission forms from the 2027-28 academic session.
Students will still provide caste details through parents or guardians when required to receive government schemes and benefits.
The government said the change aims to reduce caste-based discrimination and prevent children from developing caste-based feelings of inferiority.
Meritorious students can receive higher-education loans of up to Rs 20 lakh at one per cent interest.
The state reported welfare allocations of nearly Rs 315 crore and a Rs 1,105-crore Scheduled Caste Development Programme corpus, alongside other support schemes.
- Who
- Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the state education department.
- What
- The caste column will be removed from admission forms in state-run schools, while caste details will remain available for welfare benefits.
- When
- The directive was issued on Wednesday, with implementation planned for the 2027-28 academic session.
- Where
- State-run schools in Himachal Pradesh; the directive was issued at a meeting in Shimla.
- Why
- The government says the measure will help eliminate caste-based discrimination, promote equality and prevent children from being identified or feeling inferior because of caste.
- Implementation date
- The new admission-form system is planned for the 2027-28 academic session.
- Welfare access
- Eligible students can still provide caste details through parents or guardians when required for government schemes.
- Higher-education loans
- Meritorious students can receive loans of up to Rs 20 lakh at one per cent interest.
- Solar subsidies
- The Rajiv Gandhi Start-up Swarozgar Saur Yojana supports projects ranging from 100 KW to 2 MW, with subsidies of 5 per cent in tribal areas and 4 per cent elsewhere.
- Family welfare scheme
- The Apna Parivar Sukhi Parivar Yojana is planned to provide extremely poor families with 300 units of free electricity and women with a monthly pension of Rs 1,500.
- Current-year allocation
- Nearly Rs 315 crore was allocated for schemes supporting Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women, children and senior citizens.
- Scheduled Caste programme
- A corpus of Rs 1,105 crore was allocated under the Scheduled Caste Development Programme.
