"Bill should be junked": Ex-Infosys CFO on 100% quota for Kannadigas in private jobs

Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital and former CFO and board member of Infosys, has criticized the Karnataka government's decision to mandate 100 per cent reservation for Kannadigas in private sector Group C and D posts.

In a post on the microblogging site X, Pai stated, "This bill should be junked. It is discriminatory, regressive and against the constitution."

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson of Biocon, also expressed concerns, suggesting that exemptions should be made for highly skilled recruitment.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that the Karnataka cabinet approved the bill in a meeting held on Monday. "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," he said in a post on X.

"We are a pro-Kannada government. Our priority is to look after the welfare of the Kannadigas," Siddaramaiah added.

Sources in the law department revealed that the 'Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024' will be tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.

The bill stipulates that industries, factories, and other establishments must appoint 50 per cent local candidates in management categories and 70 per cent in non-management categories. Candidates without a secondary school certificate with Kannada as a language must pass a Kannada proficiency test as specified by the 'Nodal Agency'.