• The Karnataka government put the reservation Bill for Kannadigas in private firms on hold amid fierce criticism from business leaders and tech tycoons.

• The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 was cleared by the state Cabinet.

• According to the Bill, “any industry, factory or other establishments shall appoint 50 per cent of local candidates in management categories and 70 per cent in non-management categories”.

• Reacting strongly to the state government move, industry veterans objected to the proposed quota.

• Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the draft Bill intended to provide reservations for Kannadigas in private sector jobs is still in the preparation stage.

Analysis of the move 

• May not withstand legal scrutiny, as Article 16 empowers only the Parliament, not state governments, to provide for such reservations.

• A politically motivated move that fails to address the primary issues in the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and industrial infrastructure.

• Potentially harmful to national unity, as it could inspire other states to implement similar policies, thereby restricting the mobility of people across the country.

• The mobility of the labour force is crucial for industrialised states to maintain their comparative advantage by accessing cheap and suitably skilled labor, and for reducing inter-state income disparities through remittances.

• Previous similar efforts in states like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana were unsuccessful and unenforced.

• Such constraints could deter investments, affecting job creation. 

Reasons behind demand for reservation for locals in jobs

• Rising unemployment: With unemployment figures likely to rise drastically in the backdrop of pandemic and lack of access to skills and low employability, these demands are only going to rise in future.

• Agrarian distress: The agrarian sector is under tremendous stress across the country, and young people are desperate to move out of the sector, hence seeking local jobs.

• Displacement of landowners: Since most of the land requirement is met by acquiring private agricultural lands, the landowners are being displaced and deprived of their occupation and thereby the associated loss of income generates demand for local level jobs.

• Lack of participation of all sections in the workforce: Several reports like, the State of Working India 2018 have shown that discrimination is one of the reasons for under-representation of Dalits and Muslims in the corporate sector. Reservation could help these sections overcome this discrimination.

• Perception that central devolution is insufficient: Finance commissions accord a high weightage to poverty and population vis-a-vis development, thus majority share goes to the northern states. In this context, local reservation provides them a sense of indirect economic justice.

• Extent of migration: According to some estimates drawn from 2011 Census, NSSO surveys and Economic Survey suggests that there are a total of about 65 million inter-state migrants, and 33 per cent of these migrants are workers. These migrants increase the labour market competition which fuels the demand for reservation.

Related constitutional provisions and amendments:  

• Article 15(4): State can make any special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Schedule Castes (SC)/Schedule Tribes (STs). 

• Article 15(5): State can make special provisions for advancement of any socially & educationally backward classes of citizens or for SCs/STs, in relation to their admission to public/private education institutions. Minority educational institutions are excluded (added by 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act 2006) 

• Article 16(4): State can make any provision for the reservation in appointments in favour of any backward class of citizens which is not adequately represented in the services under the State.  

• Article 16(4A): State can make any provision for reservation in matters of promotion (Added by 77th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA) 1995), with consequential seniority (Added by 85th Constitutional Amendment Act 2001) in favour of the Scheduled Castes & the Scheduled Tribes, which are not adequately represented.  

• Article 38: State must work to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities amongst groups of people. 

• Article 46: State to promote educational and economic interests of weaker sections, particularly SC/ST, and protect them from social injustice and exploitation. 

• Article 334: It mentions period of reservation (i.e. 70 years) for SC/ST and representation of Anglo-Indians in Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, panchayats and municipalities. 

• Article 335: As a safeguard against unreasonable or extravagant reservation, consideration to maintenance of efficiency of administration must be given, while making appointments to central and state government posts. 

• 82nd Constitutional Amendment Act provides for relaxation in qualifying marks/standards of evaluation for reservations in matter of appointment/promotions of members of Schedule Castes (SCs)/Schedule Tribes (STs). 

• Article 340 directs central government to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes within the territory of India and take appropriate measures for their advancement. 

• Articles 341 & 342 prescribe procedure in matter of specification of SCs/STs communities in a particular state/Union Territory (UT) can be declared as ‘Scheduled Caste/Tribe’ by the President through an initial public notification after consultation with the state government. Parliamentary law can include/exclude any community from the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Way Forward 

• Tackle the issues of unemployment by promoting greater industrialisation and equitable regional development. 

• Promote inclusive development like in Germany, where every village has a factory providing jobs to the local people. However, there should be an overarching framework at the Union level to promote such development. 

• Focus on making the youth of a state employable with proper investments in education, health and skill development.  

• Promote labour intensive industries to make use of the labour surplus in the country. 

• Need to promote entrepreneurship where ‘job seekers’ themselves become ‘job creators. State can further strengthen incentives to the more deprived.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)