Encourage local employment, but not at the cost of quality

The meaning and purpose of reservations is changing day by day. Originally, the reservations were meant to uplift the down trodden for a limited period. Over a period of time reservations took a different route and are being used for regional, religious and many other purposes.

Encouraging local employment is a good idea but it should not be at the cost of quality. India is one country and if each State restricts citizens of other States, the definition of one country will be defeated.

If we take the statistics of Andhra Pradesh, every year more than a lakh of engineering graduates complete their course and they do not find employment opportunities in the State. If every State insists on 100 per cent local reservation where will these graduates go? The employers also will lose talented workers because of regional barriers.

I feel that to ensure employment for locals the reservation can be applied up to a certain percentage in non-skilled sectors. For skilled and management jobs the private sector should have the liberty to hire a talented workforce of their choice and requirement.

The Congress government in Karnataka shocked the corporates by announcing reservations for local people in private jobs recently. But it went back on this after corporates including IT industry body Nasscom opposed it. But way back in 2019, the YSRCP government in Andhra Pradesh enacted a law, reserving 75 per cent jobs in private sector to locals. But Nara Lokesh, the new IT Minister of AP, invited corporates from Bengaluru to come to Andhra Pradesh if they are not happy with local quota in Karnataka. In this backdrop, Bizz Buzz is carrying opinions of corporate leaders and businesspersons whether local quota in private jobs is justifiable.