Shashi Tharoor Introduces Bill To Give 1% Reservations To Transgenders

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday introduced a private member bill that seeks to provide one per cent reservation for transgender persons across categories in government establishments, including educational institutions.

In a post on X, Mr Tharoor said the Bill seeks to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 to ensure horizontal reservations to them "across the board, to address the severe discrimination faced by such individuals in our society".

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2024 includes two key provisions.

Firstly, Section 8A of the Bill mandates that all government establishments reserve at least one per cent of vacancies for transgender persons across various categories, including General, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.

This reservation will apply to positions filled through direct recruitment. If there are insufficient transgender applicants, the unfilled vacancies will be allocated to candidates from the same category, whether male or female, the Bill said.

Secondly, the Bill seeks to introduce Section 13A, which requires educational institutions funded or recognised by the government to reserve at least one per cent of seats in every class or course for transgender students.

This provision spans all levels of education, from pre-schools to universities, including technical and vocational schools.

This was the first day private member business was taken up in the 18th Lok Sabha.

Private members are allowed to move resolutions on issues discussed by the House and later responded to by the government. Fridays are usually kept to take up private members business post 3.30 pm during which MPs discuss bills and resolutions moved by them on issues they deem are important for the country.