Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah deletes post on 100% quota for Kannadigas for ‘grade C and D’ jobs

Amid criticism from industry leaders, Labour Minister Santosh Lad said the government is trying to introduce a law to give preference to locally available skills. “At management (level), it has been decided to provide reservation to 50% of the people. At the non-management level, it has been decided to provide work to 70%. If a particular skill is not available, people can be outsourced and they can be given work here. But the Government is trying to bring in a law to give preference to locally available skills,” he told news agency ANI.

Karnataka Minister for Commerce & Industries M B Patil said the government will have “wider consultations”. “We will ensure that the interests of Kannadigas are protected, alongside those of the industries,” he said.

“Karnataka is a progressive state, and we cannot afford to lose in this once-in-a-century race of industrialization. We will make sure that everyone’s interests are safeguarded. The Industries are assured that they need not have any fear or apprehensions and can rest assured,” Patil said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Minister for Electronics Priyank Kharge said the Labour Department, which brought in the Bill, is “yet to consult with the industry, the Minister of Industry and the Department of Information Technology.”

“I am sure that before coming up with the rules of the Bill, they will have due consultations with the respective ministries and more importantly, a wider consultation with the industry. So there is no need to panic. We are going to safeguard the jobs for the state as well as encourage investments in the industries with their consultation,” Kharge added.

On Monday, the Karnataka Cabinet had cleared a Bill which mandates industries, factories and other establishments to appoint 50 per cent of local candidates in management categories and 75 per cent in non-management categories.

‘Will hamper growth’: Industry leaders protest bill

Following the government’s announcement of passage of the Bill, industry leaders and unions echoed similar sentiments against it, describing it as a decision which would hamper industry growth by driving away skilled workers not covered under the quota.

Nasscom, the apex body for technology industry in India, in a statement said that the Bill was “deeply disturbing”.

The Bill, it said, would “drive away companies, and stifle startups”. It would also cause companies to relocate in absence of adequate local skilled talent, it added.

“It is deeply disturbing to see this kind of Bill which will not only hamper the growth of the industry, impact jobs and the global brand for the state”, it said, while urging the government to reconsider and withdraw the Bill.

Mohandas Pai, a Padma Shri Awardee and former CFO and Board Member at Infosys, also said that the government must focus on increasing jobs, training and educating Kannada youth instead of driving away investment. “Karnataka is India’s best state, we should not destroy this,” he said in a post on X.

Pai termed the Bill as “discriminatory, regressive and against the Constitution” even as he attacked the ruling Congress for the decision.

“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 by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson of Biopharmaceuticals company Biocon Limited.