The Madhya Pradesh government has enabled members of the transgender community to apply for government jobs as it has created a separate category for their recruitment, an official said on Saturday.

Till now, there were only two categories - male and female - for candidates seeking government jobs through the direct recruitment process.

"The state government has issued an order on Friday under the Madhya Pradesh Transgender (Protection of Rights) Rules - 2021, creating a separate category for the transgender community in the direct recruitment in jobs," the official said.

With this, the option of 'transgender' will now be available in the application forms for government jobs along with male and female, he said.

Earlier last year, the West Bengal government had decided to allow people from the transgender community to apply for government jobs under the general category.

In November last year, the Mumbai bench of the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) had directed the state government to keep one post of a police sub-inspector (PSI) reserved for transgenders.

The demand for reservation for transgenders in the government is also being made.

India's first transgender Judge Joyita Mondal had earlier told reporters that it was very important to give reservation in government jobs to the transgender community.

Mondal said that transgenders' entry in segments like the police force and the railways will change the society's outlook towards them and help in their advancement in life.

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