Bengaluru, Karnataka — The Karnataka cabinet has approved a bill that mandates 100% reservation for Kannadigas in private sector Group C and D posts, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced. The decision was made during the Cabinet meeting held on Monday.
“The Cabinet meeting yesterday approved a bill to make the recruitment of 100% Kannadigas mandatory for ‘C and D’ grade posts in all private industries in the state,” Siddaramaiah stated in a post on X. “We are a pro-Kannada government. Our priority is to look after the welfare of the Kannadigas,” he added.
According to PTI, the ‘Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024’ will be presented in the Assembly on Thursday.
The bill outlines that “any industry, factory, or other establishment shall appoint fifty percent of local candidates in management categories and seventy percent in non-management categories.” Candidates without a secondary school certificate with Kannada as a language must pass a Kannada proficiency test specified by the ‘Nodal Agency.’
If qualified local candidates are not available, establishments, in collaboration with the government or its agencies, must take steps to train them within three years. If a sufficient number of local candidates are still not available, establishments may apply to the government for a relaxation from the provisions of this Act. The bill stipulates that such relaxations shall not be less than 25 percent for management categories and 50 percent for non-management categories.
Industries, factories, or other establishments must inform the nodal agency about compliance with the provisions of this Act in a prescribed form within a specified period. The nodal agency will verify the reports furnished by employers and submit a report to the government on the implementation of the Act’s provisions.
Concerns have been raised regarding the bill’s potential impact on the state’s technology sector. Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw expressed concerns that while the aim is to provide jobs to local residents, it must not undermine Karnataka’s leading position in technology. “As a tech hub, we need skilled talent, and while the aim is to provide jobs for locals, we must ensure this move does not compromise our leading position in technology. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy,” she stated in a post on X, tagging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Minister for IT/BT Priyank Kharge.
Former Infosys executive Mohandas Pai also criticised the bill, calling for its rejection. “This bill should be junked. It is discriminatory, regressive, and against the constitution. Is the government going to certify who we are? This is a fascist bill reminiscent of ‘Animal Farm.’ It’s unbelievable that the INC can come up with such a bill—a government officer will sit on recruitment committees of the private sector? People have to take a language test?” Pai questioned in a post on X.
The bill’s approval sets the stage for significant changes in employment policies within Karnataka’s private sector, with potential implications for both local employment and the state’s economic landscape.
