K'taka govt flip-flops on Kannadiga quota bill

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 which was approved by the State Cabinet on Monday has gone back to the “preparation stage”, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday.

He added that a decision would be taken in the next Cabinet meeting. The announcement comes in the backdrop of industry leaders like Manipal Global Education (MGE) Chairman Mohandas Pai and pharmaceutical giant Biocon Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw raising alarm over the Bill.

The Congress party is committed to uphold the pride of Kannadigas in Karnataka. Our government has been working for Kannada and Kannadigas including making Kannada mandatory in name boards and reservation for Kannadigas. This job reservation legislation is another step in that direction. — DK Shivakumar, Deputy CM

“Any industry, factory or other establishments shall appoint 50 per cent of local candidates in management categories and seventy percent in non-management categories,” the Bill read.

The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) T Narayana Gowda faction had demanded such a law.

“The draft bill intended to provide reservations for Kannadigas in private sector companies, industries, and enterprises is still in the preparation stage. A comprehensive discussion will be held in the next Cabinet meeting before taking a final decision,” Siddaramaiah posted on the social media site X.

As a tech hub, we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals, we must not affect our leading position in technology with this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy. — Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, pharma giant Biocon MD

An earlier version of the post had used the Kannada word for “withheld” to describe the status of the Bill. Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah deleted a post talking about “100 per cent reservation for Kannadigas”.

The candidates who qualify as “local” in the Bill are those who’ve passed Kannada in their Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or cleared a test to prove their proficiency in the language overseen by a Nodal Agency. The body will have powers to demand information from employers on their hiring record.

The Nodal agency will be led by an officer of the rank of Assistant Labour Commissioner or above to implement the Act.

Similar Haryana law struck down

A similar Bill was floated by the Haryana state government, mandating 75 per cent quota in private sector jobs for locals but was struck down by the Punjab and Haryana HC on Nov 17, 2023. Responding to the concerns of industry leaders, Dy CM DK Shivakumar said technological jobs may be given exemptions.

“The government will not interfere in technology jobs, they will get exemptions. I can’t discuss these issues when the session is going on. All these aspects will be discussed in the session.”

Other Cabinet members like Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries MB Patil, Information Technology and Bio-Technology Minister Priyank Kharge, Labour Minister Santosh Lad also defended the Bill, adding that all stakeholders would be taken into confidence before it is passed.

Amid concerns here, AP IT minister invites companies to state

Andhra Pradesh IT, Electronics and Human Resource Development Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday extended an open invitation to NASSCOM members to set up shop in the state, following concerns raised on neighbouring Karnataka's proposal to reserve certain jobs for Kannadigas there.

Lokesh welcomed IT, IT services, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related companies to relocate and expand in Andhra Pradesh.

“We understand your disappointment. We welcome you to expand or relocate your businesses to our IT, IT services, AI and data centre cluster at Vizag,” he said in a post on social media platform X.