Law of Unintended Consequences

 

 

 

Context :

Karnataka Cabinet approves draft Bill mandating job reservation for locals  .  HT .. 17 July 2024   

Extract :

The Karnataka Cabinet approved a draft bill that mandates 50 per cent reservation for locals in management jobs and 75 per cent reservation in non-management categories.

The “Karnataka State Government Employment of Local Candidates in Industries Bill, 2024” was cleared in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 15. It is slated to be presented during the current legislative session.

The Act defines a local candidate as a :

Ø  person born in the Karnataka and

Ø  domiciled in the State for 15 years.

Ø  the person should speak, read and write Kannada in a legible manner. 

Ø  The candidates should have a secondary school certificate with Kannada as a language. If not, they must pass a Kannada proficiency test as specified by the nodal agency. 

In situations where there is a lack of qualified local candidates, the hiring establishments in collaboration with government agencies should train the candidates within three years. 

The Bill also mentions exemptions in cases where enough local candidates are not available. In such instances, the hiring establishment may apply to the government for relaxation from the Act’s provisions. The government, after conducting a proper inquiry, may issue appropriate orders, which shall be final.  

However, it is stipulated that:

Ø   the percentage of local candidates should not fall below 25 per cent for management positions, and

Ø   50 percent for non-management categories,

Failure to comply to the reservation mandate may attract penalties ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000. Continued violations could result in additional penalties of ₹100 per day until compliance is achieved. 

Adding that in terms of implementation, there is always a gap between the rhetoric and the reality, he said the challenge lies in finding the number of locals for the various types of management and non-management level jobs. 

“The reality of globalisation requires movement of people across States and countries also. How this legislation responds to this requirement would be another question,” he said.  

 

 

My  Take :

While there can be no argument against CREATION of enough new jobs each year

within Karnataka , so that ALL the local people find a “ paying salaried job “ , the reality

is that this goal has remained elusive for many decades, even in those States which

have enacted such ACTS , years ago

By a big margin , proposed act of Karnataka , seems like the MOST STRINGENT – even

UN-IMPLEMENTABLE

By application of the  “ LAW of  UN-INTENTED  CONSEQUENCES  “ , it is possible that

the industries in Karnataka may consider the cheaper alternative to accelerate the

introduction ROBOTS on the factory floor / mass production Assembly lines

Here is why ( - since I am sending this blog as an email to , not only the Cabinet

Ministers but also to all the Chief Ministers , I hope Chief Minister Siddaramaiahji ,

 finds time to read this ) :

Ø  SECOND INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION ?  …………………… 21 Sept 2015

 

Extract :

But Western countries are not resigned to their fate of a lowered

 

 " Standard of Living "

 

 

They are gearing up to usher :

 

The Second Industrial Revolution  !

 

 

In the form of Robots :

 

Robots manufacturing cars / appliances / machinery / anything

Robots 3 D printing products from designs downloaded from Net

 

Robots managing health care in hospitals

 

Robots serving food in restaurants

 

Robots carrying out office jobs

 

Robots teaching in schools

 

Robots entertaining

 

Robots everywhere !


And these are :

 

Robots which work 24 hours/day and do not ask for a salary

 

Robots that do not " go slow "or go on a strike

 

Robots that do not demand " Quotas / Reservations "

 

Robots that do not take holidays or take " Sick Leave "

 

Robots that do not resign / demand promotion

 

Robots that neither envy other robots nor sabotage 

 

Robots that do not complain against unpleasant work

 

Robots that do not get tired and need rest

 

Robots whose production does not drop after working for 8 hours

 

Robots that do not demand " Overtime Pay " @ 200 % of normal

 

Robots that perfectly co-ordinate their tasks with other robots

 

Robots that willingly " retire " at any age , whenever required

 

Robots that do not demand Unemployment/Retirement Benefits

 

 Robots which may , some day , provide you with emotional support when you are sick / depressed  !

 

 

And this Second Industrial Revolution is NOT going to take a hundred years to reach the shores of India

 

 

With spread of DIGITAL INDIA / Internet / Mobile Apps , it may take , no more than 20 years !

 

 

Question :

 

Fearing that it will create further unemployment , shall we try to stall its arrival  ?

 

OR ,

 

Will our Self-Employed and Start Ups expedite its arrival and imaginatively use it to create 100 new jobs for each lost job ?

 

Let us stop tinkering with ,

 

*  The India Aspiration Fund

 

*  The Make in India Soft Loan Fund

 

*  The MUDRA Bank

 

 

Converting millions of Job-seekers into Job - Creators ,  would entirely depend

upon Union Government quickly passing , what I earlier advocated as :

 

Start Up Act - 2015

 

 

With regards,

 

Hemen Parekh

 

www.My-Teacher.in