A joint study done by Cambridge, Ulster and North East Hill Universities highlights that government job reservation succeeded in raising the representation of SC and ST by just 5 percentage points and the policy had little emphasis on improving the skills of the marginalised section. The benefits have been captured by the well-off groups from the depressed classes.
About 3.5 million people have benefited from reservations since Independence. With access to reasonable education, healthcare and nourishment, their children have formed a thick creamy layer Coling benefits for the poorest of SCs and STs.
22.5% reservation for SC/ST has 2-fold disadvantage: deserving general students fail to get admission while the groups targeted by quota don't enjoy the benefit either.

Politically, things look even more bizarre. Top heirs of the Varna system, the Brahmins and Rajputs, are demanding job quotas pleading extreme backwardness in parts of North India. They are emulating the Jats, one of the region's most influential caste group of landlords, builders and businessmen, who have sneaked into the OBC ranks, cornering up to 85% of all OBC vacancies in certain categories of jobs in Rajasthan. The political message is that you have a case if you have the numerical strength.