How will Karnataka local reservation bill help Kannadigas in state

A nodal agency will oversee compliance by verifying employment reports from industries and submit periodic updates to the state government.

Prioritising Kannadigas in the state, the Karnataka cabinet approved the draft of a bill that mandates 50 per cent reservation for locals in management jobs and 75 per cent reservation in non-management categories in private firms.

The “Karnataka State Government Employment of Local Candidates in Industries Bill, 2024” was cleared in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 15. It is slated to be presented during the current legislative session.

Who is a local candidate in Karnataka?

According to the bill, speaking Kannada does not make one a Kannadiga. To qualify as a local candidate, a person must have been domiciled in the state for 15 years and pass a nodal agency’s test. Establishments can apply for exemptions, and the government will allow some relaxations under certain conditions. Reservation of jobs in private firms in Karnataka is capped at 70 per cent for non-management roles and 50 per cent for management-level employees.

“The sentiment of localism has been brewing for some time and has expressed itself in different ways, be it in the form of highlighting Kannada in all advertisements or the demand for jobs for locals. As a logical corollary to that, I think this legislation has been passed. We must see how effectively and realistically this legislation will be implemented because there may be an intent of pandering to the sentiments of the children of the land,” told political analyst Sandeep Shastri Hindu BusinessLine

Management categories include supervisory, managerial, technical, operational, administrative, and jobs in higher roles, apart from directors. Non-management category covers clerical, unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, IT/ITES employees, and contract or casual workers in various establishments.

A nodal agency will oversee compliance by verifying employment reports from industries and submit periodic updates to the state government.

What are the penalties?

The bill also stipulated the penalty for companies that do not prioritize Kannadigas for jobs in the state. The companies which will not follow the provisions, will attract a penalty of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000, and Rs 100 will be collected every day until the local employer count is as per the bill.

Reactions pour in

Several industry leaders have criticised the government’s move and called it “discriminatory”.

Mohandas Pai, the Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services said that the Bill is “fascist” and also unconstitutional. “This bill should be junked. It is discriminatory, regressive and against the constitution @Jairam_Ramesh is the govt to certify who we are? This is a fascist bill as in Animal Farm, unbelievable that @INCIndia can come up with a bill like this- a govt officer will sit on recruitment committees of the private sector? People have to take a language test?” Pai said in a post on ‘X’.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, said Karnataka should not let this Bill affect its leading position in IT.

“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,” Shaw posted on ‘X’. She tagged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy DK Shivakumar, and Minister for IT/BT Priyank Kharge.