As this week began, Karnataka’s government stirred up a hornet’s nest with its bid to legislate private-sector job reservations. A bill okayed by the state cabinet would have half of all management job roles filled by candidates who have long been residents of the state, as also 75% of non-managerial jobs.
Plus, all grade C and D posts must be held by locals. It also has provisions that smack of language chauvinism. Faced with an uproar, the state administration said on Wednesday that the plan had been put on hold. As with Haryana’s attempt to reserve jobs for locals earlier, such a move would be discriminatory, against the spirit of a common market and bad for companies that need a wide pool of talent.
Prominent business leaders, including Kiran Mazumder-Shaw and Mohandas Pai, slammed the idea. Indeed, businesses must have the freedom to hire people based on their suitability for specific roles. State intervention would distort the local labour market, make business harder to do and hurt the state’s investment appeal. The quota is best opposed on the basis of a legal rather than economic argument, though, as it would violate the rights of other Indians.