Affirmative action leads to 1.12 lakh jobs

A PMO release said: “These 1500 companies in the private sector have adopted a voluntary code of conduct for implementation of affirmative action.”

The action hinges around four major points—Employability, Education, Entrepreneurship Development, and Employment (also called 4E). “The Chambers of Industry have reported that under the 4E Programme, 1,12,702 persons have benefitted so far,” the release said. Affirmative action involves  the steps taken by the industry towards  preferential employment policies for SC/ST which so far was not supported by the private sector.

The information was disclosed by the industry associations during a recent review meeting of the coordination committee on affirmative action chaired by T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister.

“While Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and  Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry have appointed Ombudsman to monitor the progress, Confederation of Indian Industry is in the process of doing so,” the release said.