PhonePe CEO and co-founder Sameer Nigam on July 21st said that he is deeply grateful for the supportive business environment that Karnataka’s governments and apologised for his previous social media post commenting on Karnataka's draft job reservation bill.
"PhonePe was born in Bengaluru and we are incredibly proud of our roots in this city... I would first and foremost like to clarify that it was never my intention to insult Karnataka and its people. If my comments hurt anyone’s sentiments in such a way, I am truly sorry," Nigam said in a statement.
Nigam's statement comes three days after he expressed his dissatisfaction with the Karnataka government’s proposed private jobs quota bill, which mandates reservations for locals.
The bill required that 50% of all management positions and 70% of all non-management positions in private companies be reserved for local residents.
Nigam's post went viral garnering several comments from social media users. Many users even said that Bengaluru should ban PhonePe and asked users to boycott PhonePe.
" I have the highest regard for Kannada, and all other Indian languages. In fact, I truly believe that linguistic diversity and rich cultural heritage is a national asset that all Indians should be proud of; and all Indians should be respectful of and celebrate local and cultural norms," NIgam said in his statement.
Bengaluru’s Indian startups are competing against trillion dollar giants like Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft and To do so, these companies must be able to employ the very best talent available in India purely based on their technology skills and proficiency, Nigam said.
Nigam also added that he intends to create lakhs of jobs for Bengaluru and Karnataka.
"I believe with more dialogue and discussion, we can find ways to create more sustainable employment avenues. Let’s all work together to do this meaningfully and while creating long-term impact," He said.
The proposed legislation faced criticism not only from business leaders like Nigam but also from various industry bodies. They argued that the bill could stifle growth, impact job creation, and potentially force companies to relocate. Nasscom, representing the IT industry, raised concerns that the mandated reservation could hamper the sector's development and lead to significant challenges for businesses operating in Karnataka.
Responding to the backlash, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the bill would be temporarily put on hold.
“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 to make a final decision,” he stated on X.
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