The Andhra Pradesh government has issued orders restricting the 15% non-local quota in the state exclusively for AP students. This significant decision comes after the completion of ten years since the bifurcation of the united state, effectively eliminating competition from Telangana applicants for these seats.

The Higher Education Department Secretary Kona Sasidhar issued three separate orders on Monday, clarifying local and non-local status for admissions to professional courses. The orders apply to engineering, degree, and professional education courses. As a result, from the 2025-26 academic year, the 15% non-local quota seats will be available only to students from Andhra Pradesh.

Under the new system, AP will maintain two regions for determining local status:
– Andhra University Region: Covering Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, and Prakasam districts
– Sri Venkateswara University Region: Including Anantapur, Kurnool, Chittoor, Kadapa, and Nellore districts

This marks a change from the earlier three-region system that included Osmania University region, which has now been removed following the 10-year bifurcation period.

Students must meet specific residency requirements:
– Must have resided in AP for at least 10 years
– Should have studied for four years in the same region during classes 9-12
– If students studied in multiple regions, the region where they studied longer will determine their local status
– For those who didn’t study in AP institutions, residence proof for the qualifying period will be considered

This policy is similar to Telangana’s earlier decision to restrict its 15% quota for Telangana students only.