India Inc says no to quotas
No to quota but voluntary action is fine; cess on corporate profits got a thumbs-down, while training of candidates considered to be vital.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a recent Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) meeting advocated ‘corporate asceticism’ by hitting out at fat pay packets in the Indian private sector, it had most captains of India Inc scurrying for cover. So when last Saturday, a government panel, along with the CII, mooted a policy of positive discrimination favouring jobs in the private sector for weaker sections, the response was loud and clear. No to quota but voluntary action is fine; cess on corporate profits got a thumbs-down, while training of candidates was said to be vital.
Rahul Bajaj’s voice was the loudest. “We have always supported financially weak sections of the society,” stated the chairman of the $3 billion Bajaj group, one of India’s oldest business houses and a diversified conglomerate that employs more than 20,000 people.
“Our policy is that all other things being equal, Bajaj Auto would support and prefer SC/STs and OBCs. We all support need for affirmative action. However, some people in the political space misunderstand it as mandatory employment on the basis of quotas. We have made it clear that we’re completely against mandatory reservation for anyone. That’s not the way to go about it,” he added.
At the Saturday meeting of the Coordination Committee to Promote Affirmative Action in Indian Industry, companies broadly agreed to give preference to SC/ST candidates, but stoutly opposed giving any job quotas as prevalent in government departments.
Mr Bajaj was equally vehement against the proposal for a cess on profits. “What will the cess do? I am against any tax or cess. We’re already burdened with taxes. If required, exemptions except those for R&D, can go. In fact, corporate tax should be brought down to 25%,” he said.
The Aditya Birla group — which employs 60,000 people in its Indian operations alone — wants training and higher education through dedicated universities to be given priority. “Where is the need to consciously probe people’s backgrounds?” asks the group’s HR director Santrupt Mishra. “I am sure no private company asks people their castes while recruiting. Candidates are judged purely on the basis of their merit,” he added.
TV Mohandas Pai, human resources director of Infosys, India’s second largest software exporter and a company which gives out estimates on the number of people it would hire quarterly, was more specific in his answer. “Positive discrimination is required if hiring is small. We hire in large numbers — we added 30,000 people last year — and from a wide spectrum of society. We hire from 1,000 engineering colleges, some located in semi-urban and rural areas. At the hiring stage, we don’t ask our applicants for their caste,” said Mr Pai.
“We believe that empowerment of people — training them to make them employable — is the way to go about it,” he added.
The CII said that after an intensive selection process, it chooses about 345 SC/ST candidates and trains them to become entrepreneurs. The Ahmedabad-based Entrepreneurial Development Institute expects to train 500 people in the current fiscal.
RPG group vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka said his group would be “happy” to give preferential treatment for weaker sections. “We already have a positive discrimination policy in our companies but it needs to be intensified further,” he added.
Rahul Bajaj’s voice was the loudest. “We have always supported financially weak sections of the society,” stated the chairman of the $3 billion Bajaj group, one of India’s oldest business houses and a diversified conglomerate that employs more than 20,000 people.
“Our policy is that all other things being equal, Bajaj Auto would support and prefer SC/STs and OBCs. We all support need for affirmative action. However, some people in the political space misunderstand it as mandatory employment on the basis of quotas. We have made it clear that we’re completely against mandatory reservation for anyone. That’s not the way to go about it,” he added.
At the Saturday meeting of the Coordination Committee to Promote Affirmative Action in Indian Industry, companies broadly agreed to give preference to SC/ST candidates, but stoutly opposed giving any job quotas as prevalent in government departments.
Mr Bajaj was equally vehement against the proposal for a cess on profits. “What will the cess do? I am against any tax or cess. We’re already burdened with taxes. If required, exemptions except those for R&D, can go. In fact, corporate tax should be brought down to 25%,” he said.
The Aditya Birla group — which employs 60,000 people in its Indian operations alone — wants training and higher education through dedicated universities to be given priority. “Where is the need to consciously probe people’s backgrounds?” asks the group’s HR director Santrupt Mishra. “I am sure no private company asks people their castes while recruiting. Candidates are judged purely on the basis of their merit,” he added.
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Senior officials from the Tata group refused to comment on the issue, while the Munjals, owners of India’s largest two-wheeler company Hero Honda, said it was “too early” to comment.TV Mohandas Pai, human resources director of Infosys, India’s second largest software exporter and a company which gives out estimates on the number of people it would hire quarterly, was more specific in his answer. “Positive discrimination is required if hiring is small. We hire in large numbers — we added 30,000 people last year — and from a wide spectrum of society. We hire from 1,000 engineering colleges, some located in semi-urban and rural areas. At the hiring stage, we don’t ask our applicants for their caste,” said Mr Pai.
“We believe that empowerment of people — training them to make them employable — is the way to go about it,” he added.
The CII said that after an intensive selection process, it chooses about 345 SC/ST candidates and trains them to become entrepreneurs. The Ahmedabad-based Entrepreneurial Development Institute expects to train 500 people in the current fiscal.
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“If the qualification and experience are equal, we will give priority to the disadvantaged classes. In fact, we should give them proper training and education,” Mercator Lines chairman HK Mittal said.RPG group vice-chairman Sanjiv Goenka said his group would be “happy” to give preferential treatment for weaker sections. “We already have a positive discrimination policy in our companies but it needs to be intensified further,” he added.
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The construction sector was supportive of the proposal. “It’s a very positive step to eradicate social inequality. (But then) we always believe in talent rather than caste or colour,” HDIL MD Sarang Wadhawan said.Download
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