Andhra Pradesh proposes 75% private jobs for locals

Andhra Pradesh on Monday pushed to pass the Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in Industries/Factories Bill, 2019, aiming to become the first State to reserve 75 per cent jobs for locals in all private industries, joint ventures along with public-private partnership projects.

The State, under Jagan Mohan Reddy, is looking to pass the Bill that states that if locals with necessary skills are not available, then the companies would have to train them in association with the state government and then hire them, according to a report in The Times of India.

The report also stated that the companies must comply with the act within three years of implementation of the act, and give quarterly reports of appointments of locals.

The only exemption under this Act would be the industries that fall under Schedule 1 of the Factories Act, 1948. This list includes factories involving hazardous processes -- ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgical, coal, fertilizer (nitrogenous, phosphatic, mixed), petro-chemical, drug and pharmaceutical, petroleum industries -- among others. Even in this case, the government would decide after taking a look at the applications.

A quota for the youth in local jobs was one of the election promises of Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy.

In February this year, Madhya Pradesh, under the Kamal Nath government, made it mandatory for all State-funded industries to provide 70 per cent employment to locals. "Our schemes of providing incentives of investment will only be imposed after 70 per cent people from Madhya Pradesh get jobs...People from States like Bihar, UP come here and locals don't get jobs," Nath had said. An ambitious 70 per cent reservation in private sector jobs is what the Nath government is batting for next.

Some of the other States that have such provisions in place are Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh (70 per cent each).