Reservations.
Think affirmative action, but ONLY a member of XYZ 'disadvantaged' community can get to be the university seat/job/promotion. *In fact, the Supreme Court once ruled it illegal for any 'general' category person to get these reserved spots even if there aren't enough qualified reserved people.
The IIT exam, the IIT JEE, is perhaps the most competitive college entrance exam in the world(I'm discounting certain Chinese exams because they still award seats to those who represent their nation in the Olympiads, IIT only give a damn about their process). It is certainly the most retarded. Recommend you google it, in a nation where every other kids wants to do 'engineering' without knowing what it is and is the test for entry into most of the better colleges. Anyway, if you belong to a backward caste or get reservations you can get in despite there being more qualified, poorer 'general' category kids who've slogged their butts off to get more marks. You also have this grand system of caste certificates and BS, rewarding those who have the combination of $ and the right caste.
Interesting fact: reservations were once meant to be only temporary. But since promising reservations guarantees votes, there is a practice of 'vote bank' politics where politicians promise inclusion in OBC(other backward) category or sub-reservations to get votes. There are often demonstrations, protests and clashes for communities to get reservations. In Tamil Nadu(a state), elected morons tried to push for reservations exceeding 50% of the total seats- leaving less than half for the average kid.
Interesting fact 2: many qualified Indian students(aka half my family) are leaving that nation and going for international options instead. Wonder why.
Hope this clarifies some things, Indian politics and a particular brand of 'secularism' and 'equality' combined with interesting notions of culture/freedom of speech/religious sentiments make the place quite the swamp. Feel free to reply in case this was inadequate, or just ask /r/India for a more thorough explanation, this is a topic close to their hearts.