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No moral policing of IT firms, but Kannadigas must form workforce majority: CM Shivakumar
Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar said IT companies would be protected from moral policing but must ensure Kannadigas form the majority of their workforce.
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Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said the state government would protect technology companies from interference and moral policing, but expected them to ensure that Kannadigas formed the majority of their workforce, amid renewed demands for job reservations for locals in Bengaluru’s IT sector.
“We will ensure that no one misuses their office and that there is no moral policing. The government will protect the industry, but companies must take responsibility for ensuring that Kannadigas are employed in large numbers. We will not interfere in matters of skill. However, companies must ensure that Kannadigas form the majority of their workforce because we have a large pool of human resources in the state. We will not allow anyone to misuse their organisation or the Kannada cause,” Shivakumar said, while addressing the ‘Namma Shale Namma Javabdari’ Individual CSR programme, organised at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday to mobilise corporate and individual contributions towards the development of government schools across Karnataka.
The remarks come amid a campaign by the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) to seek employment data from IT companies in Bengaluru to establish the extent of local representation in the sector. The organisation is also pressing the state government to introduce legislation mandating job reservations for Kannadigas in private companies.
The KRV has approached technology companies, including Google, seeking details of their employees as part of its data collection exercise. The organisation plans to compile the information and submit it to the state government.
Its president, T A Narayana Gowda, has sought legislation to make the recommendations of the Sarojini Mahishi Committee on employment for Kannadigas enforceable. The organisation has argued that voluntary measures have not ensured adequate representation of locals in the technology sector. Gowda has put the share of Kannadigas in Bengaluru’s IT workforce at 20% to 23%.
However, Shivakumar referred to the scale of migration into Bengaluru, saying the city could not exclude people who had moved there from other states or countries. “There are two lakh foreign passport holders in Bengaluru and nearly 45 lakh people from outside Karnataka living in the city. This is a reality, and we cannot ask anyone to leave. Bengaluru is a global city, and people consider it a safe place. It is also a talent hub,” he said.
He linked the availability of skilled workers to Karnataka’s ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2032, saying investment alone would not be sufficient to achieve that target. “Karnataka is working towards becoming a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2032. However, capital alone cannot build that future. A skilled human resource base is essential to achieving this goal,” he said.
Shivakumar cited the size of Bengaluru’s workforce as evidence of the state’s human resource capacity. The city has 1.3 million IT professionals and 2.6 million people employed across sectors, he said.
“The entire world is looking towards Bengaluru. Our state is a land of talent, a sentiment shared by many, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There are 1.3 million IT professionals working in India’s Silicon Valley and 2.6 million people employed across Bengaluru. This is Karnataka’s strength. Global leaders visit Bengaluru before travelling to other destinations,” he said.
The state Cabinet approved a Bill in 2024 proposing 50% reservation for locals in management positions and 70% to 75% in non-management positions in private industries. It also proposed 100% reservation in Group C and Group D jobs. The government subsequently put the Bill on hold after industry representatives raised objections.
