Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has deleted a social media post that initially announced 100% reservation for Kannadigas in all Group C and Group D jobs within private companies in the state. Labour Minister Santosh Lad clarified that job reservations in private firms would now be capped at 70% for non-management roles and 50% for management-level positions.
“At management level, it has been decided to provide reservation to 50 per cent of the people. At the non-management level, it has been decided to provide work to 70 per cent…” he explained.
He said that if companies cannot find suitable skilled candidates locally, they could consider hiring from outside the state.
“If such skills are not available (in Kannadigas) then the jobs can be outsourced. The government is trying to bring in a law to give preference to locals… if skilled labour is available here…” he said.
Stressing that the state has abundance of skilled workforce , he added, “Karnataka has enough skilled workforce. There are so many engineering colleges, medical colleges, international schools… We are asking them to give 70 per cent of work to Kannadigas. If enough talent is not available they can bring from outside.”
While announcing the reservations on X, Siddaramaiah said, “The Cabinet meeting held yesterday approved a bill to make recruitment of 100 per cent Kannadigas mandatory for ‘C and D’ grade posts in all private industries in the state.”
The CM said that they wanted to give Kannadigas an opportunity to lead a comfortable life in their state and not be deprived of jobs in ‘Kannada land’.
However, the move sparked controversy among business leaders, particularly within Bengaluru’s influential IT sector, who criticised the proposal as discriminatory and regressive.
“This bill is discriminatory, regressive… this is a fascist bill, as in ‘Animal Farm’ (the George Orwell novel),” Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services, had said on X.
Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw responded cautiously, welcoming the proposal while urging for “caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy.”
“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 a caveat…” she said on X.
Biocon, a global biopharmaceutical enterprise with its registered office in Bengaluru’s Electronics City, an 800-acre industrial and technology hub housing major firms like Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra, employs over 16,500 individuals.
RK Misra, co-Chairman of ASSOCHAM Karnataka, also criticised the proposal as “short-sighted.”
“Another genius move from Government of Karnataka. Mandate LOCAL RESERVATION and APPOINT GOVT OFFICER IN EVERY COMPANY to monitor. This will scare (companies)… short-sighted.”
Lad acknowledged the apprehensions and said, “We respect their apprehensions and their views. We will talk to them.”
Karnataka Commerce and Industries Minister HB Patil also assured industrialists that they will discuss their concerns. “I have seen that many people have apprehensions… we will resolve this confusion… so that it does not have any adverse effect…” Patil said.
The proposed bill, drafted by the Labour Department, raised concerns that jobs meant for Karnataka were being filled predominantly by people from northern states who subsequently settled in Karnataka. It recommended that companies in Karnataka, benefiting from state-provided infrastructure, reserve jobs for local residents.
The policy proposal is reportedly based on recommendations from the Sarojini Mahishi Committee, suggesting that large, medium, and small-scale industrial units with over 50 employees reserve 65% to 80% of Group A and Group B positions for Kannadigas, while all Group C and Group D jobs would be exclusively for locals.
However, specific policies based on these recommendations have yet to be formulated.
