Tharoor introduces bill to give 1% reservation to transgenders in government institutions

NEW DELHI, July 26: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday introduced a bill seeking one per cent reservation for transgenders in all categories in government institutions, including educational institutions.
In a post on X, Tharoor said the bill seeks to amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 to ensure horizontal reservations for 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 contains two important provisions.
Firstly, Section 8A of the Bill stipulates that all government institutions must reserve at least one per cent of vacancies for transgender persons from various categories, including general persons, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
This reservation applies to positions filled through direct recruitment. If there are insufficient transgender applicants, the unfilled vacancies will be allocated to candidates from the same category, irrespective of whether they are 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 percent of places in each class or course for transgender students.
This provision applies to all levels of education, from nursery schools to colleges, including technical and vocational colleges. This was the first day that private members’ affairs were taken up in the 18th Lok Sabha. (PTI)