Going by data,SC 038; STs dont want a naukri

A quarter of India's population,SCs amp; STs,account for just 4.5 of resumes on naukri.com.

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The Confederation of Indian Industry8217;s CII latest caste-based employment survey for its 8,250 members collectively employing 35 lakh persons throws up some disturbing numbers at the micro level. While scheduled castes and scheduled tribes SC amp; STs comprise around 25 of the country8217;s population,they comprise around 18-20 of the employees of CII Inc. While that8217;s not too bad a performance,the numbers are disturbing for individual states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. While SC/ST comprise 19 of Maharashtra8217;s population,they comprise just 5 of the employment of CII Inc in the state. In Gujarat,SC/ST are 22 of the population but just 9 of CII Inc8217;s employment.

As a result,for the western and southern region,SC/ST form just 16 of the work force of CII Inc; the figure is 22 for the northern region and 24 for the eastern region.

So how does CII Inc,or the larger India Inc,get to increase the size of its SC/ST share or even OBC employee base? We decided to look at the database of employees at India8217;s largest online job database,naukri.com,which has nearly 23 million users,or around 60 of the total online job applicants in the country. The findings are interesting.

Naukri offers job-seekers the option of giving their caste. This is important since some firms,such as those in CII Inc,could be looking specifically for resumes of different caste groups. Among those who submitted their castes,just 0.67 are STs,3.7 SCs,and 13.5 OBCs. So,under 18 of naukri8217;s database comprises SC/ST/OBCs while these groups account for around two-thirds of India8217;s population. Naturally then,those looking for employees in these caste groups are going to have a problem finding enough of them.

Then there is the issue of the qualifications of job applicants and there is little CII Inc or others can do. If you assume a graduate degree is required for jobs other than those on the shop-floor,then what needs to be seen is the proportion of SC/ST/OBCs that have graduate degrees.

Data from NCAER8217;s household survey see table shows that of all the graduates in the country,just 4.3 are ST,10 SC and 35.5 OBC as compared to their share in the population of 8.2,16.7 and 41 respectively. So,if any industry or service unit is looking for graduation as the minimum qualification,the chances of finding SC/ST/OBC applicants are much lower than for finding these in upper caste candidates.