Understanding Horizontal Reservation in SBI Clerk

The State Bank of India (SBI), has released the much awaited notification for the SBI Clerk 2024 post. This year SBI has notified about 14,191 vacancies across different categories. In this article we will get you to know about the types of vacancies and how does horizontal distribution work in detail.

Understanding Horizontal Reservation in SBI Clerk

The SBI Clerk 2024 recruitment process is designed to offer equal opportunities for candidates which ensures inclusivity and fairness. A key aspect of this is the horizontal reservation, which provides specific quotas for candidates belonging to categories such as PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities), XS (Ex-Servicemen), and DXS (Disabled Ex-Servicemen). In this article, we will explain how horizontal reservation works in the SBI Clerk 2024 exam and its significance for eligible candidates.

What is Horizontal Reservation?

Horizontal reservation refers to the reservation that is applied across the vertical reservation categories which are General, SC, ST, OBC. Unlike vertical reservation, which allocates separate vacancies for each category, horizontal reservation ensures that a certain percentage of vacancies in each vertical category are reserved for the specific groups such as PwBD, XS, and DXS candidates.

In the SBI Clerk 2024 recruitment process, the total number of vacancies will be distributed across General, SC, ST, OBC, and EWS categories. A certain percentage of these vacancies is  allocated for horizontal reservation categories such as PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities), XS (Ex-Servicemen), and DXS (Disabled Ex-Servicemen).

How does Horizontal Reservation Work?

Now let us understand how does Horizontal Reservation work. In the Table below you can see that there are vacancies given category wise and another column is of vacancies given in 2 other categories which are PwBD and XS.

Let’s analyze the horizontal and vertical distribution in greater detail using three entries from the table: Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), and Chandigarh (Punjab).

1. Ahmedabad (Gujarat)

• Vertical Distribution (Category-Wise):
  • SC: 75
  • ST: 160
  • OBC: 289
  • EWS: 107
  • GEN: 442
  • Total Vacancies: 1073 (Sum of all categories)
• Horizontal Distribution (PwBD and XS):
  • PwBD Categories:
    • VI (Visual Impairment): 11
    • HI (Hearing Impairment): 11
    • LD (Locomotor Disability): 11
    • d&e (Other Disabilities): 10
    • Total PwBD Vacancies: 43
  • XS (Ex-Servicemen): 107
  • DXS (Disabled Ex-Servicemen): 48

Explanation

• The total vacancies for Ahmedabad are 1073, and the horizontal reservations (PwBD and XS) are a subset of these 1073 seats. For example if a candidate with VI (Visual Impairment) qualifies for a seat in the OBC category, they will occupy one of the 289 OBC seats while availing the horizontal VI reservation.
• Similarly, XS candidates (107) and DXS candidates (48) will occupy seats across all categories without exceeding the total of 1073 vacancies.

2. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

• Vertical Distribution (Category-Wise):
  • SC: 197
  • ST: 263
  • OBC: 197
  • EWS: 131
  • GEN: 529
  • Total Vacancies: 1317
• Horizontal Distribution (PwBD and XS):
  • PwBD Categories:
    • VI: 14
    • HI: 13
    • LD: 13
    • d&e: 13
    • Total PwBD Vacancies: 53
  • XS (Ex-Servicemen): 121
  • DXS (Disabled Ex-Servicemen): 60

Interpretation:

• In Bhopal, the total number of vacancies is 1317, and PwBD (53), XS (121), and DXS (60) reservations are part of this number.
• For example, if an EWS candidate is eligible under the HI (Hearing Impairment) category, they will occupy one of the 131 EWS seats. This ensures that the horizontal reservation (PwBD) does not exceed the total category-wise allocation.

3. Chandigarh (Punjab)

• Vertical Distribution (Category-Wise):
  • SC: 165
  • ST: 0
  • OBC: 119
  • EWS: 65
  • GEN: 220
  • Total Vacancies: 569
• Horizontal Distribution (PwBD and XS):
  • PwBD Categories:
    • VI: 6
    • HI: 5
    • LD: 5
    • d&e: 6
    • Total PwBD Vacancies: 22
  • XS (Ex-Servicemen): 56
  • DXS (Disabled Ex-Servicemen): 26

Interpretation:

• For Chandigarh, the total vacancies are 569, with horizontal reservations for PwBD 22, XS 56, and DXS 26.
• For example, an SC candidate eligible under the LD (Locomotor Disability) category will take one of the 165 SC seats. The PwBD reservation of 22 seats does not add to the total vacancies but is distributed within the allocated category-wise seats.