Karnataka Approves Draft Bill Mandating Job Reservation For Locals

The Cabinet of the Karnataka government has approved a draft bill mandating private sector companies to provide job reservations for local candidates. The state capital, Bengaluru, houses many of India's leading information technology and biotechnology firms and tech startups, among others.

The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, was cleared in a meeting headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The draft bill will be tabled during the ongoing legislative session.

With this bill, 50% of management posts and 75% of non-management posts will be reserved for locals. “Those born in Karnataka, those who have lived in Karnataka for 15 years, who can speak, read and write Kannada and pass Kannada language tests conducted by nodal agencies are eligible for this reservation,” Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad said. 

Industries, factories, shops and commercial establishments; micro, small, medium, and large enterprises; joint ventures; and projects taken up even under the public-private partnership mode will be mandated to provide reservations to local candidates. This includes all industries of the private sector, including information technology, biotechnology, multinational companies, commercial resorts, hospitals, hotels, transport startups, e-commerce, schools and universities. 

In case qualified or suitable local candidates aren't available, the companies are stipulated to actively collaborate with the government and take steps to train and engage local candidates.

“The provision of penalising the organisations violating these rules has also been included in the bill and will be strictly implemented in the state,” the minister said.

The draft bill explaining the rationale behind the need for reservations noted that with the growth in industries, the demand for land for industrial use has been increasing. Since most of the land requirement is met by acquiring private agricultural lands, the owners are being displaced and deprived of their occupation, according to the bill. Hence, there is a demand from land losers besides the local population for providing employment and livelihood.

“Though there were promises by the industrial management to meet these demands at the initial phases of setting up their industries, more often than not, the objectives are not met," the draft bill reads. "This is causing dissatisfaction in the local community and leading to industrial unrest. Therefore, there is a need to address the problem through a legal framework."