Several seats in the Parliament of India, State Assemblies, urban and rural-level institutions are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). These reserved seats are elected by all voters in a constituency, without a separate electorate. A member of an SC/ST is not debarred from contesting a general (i.e. non-reserved) seat. This system was introduced by the Constitution of India in 1950 and was supposed to be in place for the first 10 years, to ensure participation in politics by these groups which were deemed weak, marginalized, under-represented and needing special protection. Under the 104th amendment to the Constitution of India, this reservation is to last until 2030 and is subject to extension with another constitutional amendment.