The Nethakani or Netkani (also Nethkani in Maharashtra or Nethakaani in Telangana) are a Marathi- and Telugu-speaking caste of cotton weavers and laborers.
Based on their financial status in the society, Nethekanis are designated as a Scheduled Caste (SC) in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana,[3] and may be classified as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in other parts of India.
In Telangana, Nethakanis are found primarily in the Godavari River basin, in the districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Khammam, and Warangal.
In a way the orphans living in the Agency area are said to be the poorest of the tribals in India, but the local Nethakani people experience worse poverty than those tribes.
The Nethakanis are distinguished by their custom of tying their head cloth in a roughly square shape, and by their loincloths, which are worn very loose and not knotted.
In the villages in the Aheri Revenue Division area, the non-weaving community follows the religion of the Buddha, as well as the ideology of Ambedkar, and some Hindu traditions.