PM has a double take on private job quota

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday did something of a flip-flop on the issue of job reservations in the private sector. Addressing a press conference at the Cricket Club of India, he strongly favoured a national policy on job reservations in the private sector for the weaker sections of society.

A policy will be announced soon, he said, describing reservations as “an idea whose time had come.� He defended the Maharashtra government’s move, subsequently spiked, to extend reservations to the private sector.

However, a few hours later, the tone and tenor of the PM’s remarks were different. Addressing a packed house consisting of the who’s who of corporate India, he clarified that there will be no legislation imposing job reservations and a solution will be found through dialogue with the industry.

Clarifying his stand, he spoke of the deficiencies inherited by a section of the population as a result of centuries of discrimination.

“The industry should do more than it has done in the past to see that these inequalities do not burden our social conscience,� he said. However, he said this will be achieved through dialogue and ways will have to be found to deal with the situation. He mentioned apprenticeship and training to ensure that men and women from the weaker sections of society can be gainfully employed.

Reacting to the PM’s statement, Parle Bisleri chairman Ramesh Chauhan said that most manufacturers with units in remote areas already employ a lot of people from the weaker sections. The idea of formally labelling a worker as a “backward class� worker can actually further damage the social fabric, since not everyone will want to be identified thus, he said. Nikhil Meswani, executive director, Reliance Industries, said Mr Singh’s statement that such reservations will not be made compulsory by law was good news for industry.

Mr Singh said he was impressed by the dynamism and creativity shown by Indians in the US, and promised to create an environment in the country that would make it possible to realise this dream in India.

All stakeholders, like the wealth creators, the workers and entrepreneurs, should be involved in creating the India of our dreams, he said. He promised to work to remove bureaucratic hurdles and deficiencies in infrastructure that are holding the country back.