At least seven out of every ten people employed in large industries operating in the state are Kannadigas, according to government data.
This, authorities say, is because incentives are linked to employment of locals.
According to data tabled by Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar in the ongoing budget session of the legislature, Karnataka has 712 large industries employing 5.02 lakh people. Of them, 3.92 lakh - 78 per cent - are locals.
Kannada groups have been demanding jobs for locals in the private sector as per the Sarojini Mahishi report.
Karnataka has shied away from enacting a law to reserve jobs for locals citing legal hurdles. Instead, the government amended the Karnataka Industrial (Standing Orders) Rules, 1961, to make industrial units give primacy to Kannadigas in Group C and D jobs.
The Sarojini Mahishi report says firms with more than 50 workers must hire locals in 65 per cent and 80 per cent of Group A and B jobs, respectively.
For Groups C and D jobs, this ask is 100 per cent. This requirement is stipulated as a condition by the district-level and state-level single-window committees at the time of approving new industrial units, Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar told the Assembly in a written reply.
Also, the state’s Industrial Policy requires all new investment projects to provide 70 per cent employment to Kannadigas overall, and 100 per cent in the case of Group D jobs. Failure to comply will lead to recovery of incentives and concessions offered under the policy.
“We are not doubling down on the jobs-for-locals front. We are simply following the existing process,” Additional Chief Secretary (Commerce & Industry) Gaurav Gupta told DH recently. “That primacy should be given to locals is being followed mostly.”
The implementation of the Sarojini Mahishi report is up to the Department of Commerce & Industry. For its part, the Labour Department collates information on compliance of industrial units having more than 50 employees in providing jobs to Kannadigas.
“This is submitted to the directorate of commerce and industry. The district-level single window committee headed by deputy commissioners scrutinises this information and directs erring industries to rectify,” Hebbar stated.