Heterogeneous Effect of the Indian Affirmative Action: The Role of Caste Certificates

Sugata Bag, Suman Seth and Barnali Basak

Journal of Development Studies, 2026, vol. 62, issue 6, 930-947

Abstract: Affirmative action policies, around the world, aim to provide preferential treatment to those that belong to underprivileged communities and have experienced historical social injustices and exploitations. Contemporary studies that examine the effect of Indian affirmative action policies do not explicitly consider that all intended beneficiaries are not eligible for targeted benefits. An intended beneficiary is unable to acquire the targeted benefits without possessing a valid caste certificate issued by an appropriate authority. Yet, the 2011-12 IHDS, the only nationally representative survey collecting information on caste certificate possession among households, reveals that nearly half of the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) households do not possess caste certificates and thus cannot be considered eligible for benefits. In this paper, we first explore the factors that are associated with a household’s likelihood of caste certificate possession, observing that some factors are associated with increased likelihood while others are associated with reduced likelihood. We then examine the causal link between caste certificate possession and SC/ST households’ performance in three social indicators: government job procurement, monetary well-being and non-monetary multidimensional well-being. We observe that caste certificate possessions increase the likelihood of securing government jobs and enhance monetary and non-monetary well-being among SC/ST households.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2025.2595049

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