Andhra: 75% Reservation For Locals In Private Jobs

On Monday, Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed an act which provides 75% reservation for locals in all private industrial units, factories, joint ventures and projects with a public-private partnership. The act is called, Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in Industries/Factories Act, 2019.

By passing this law, Andhra Pradesh has become the first state in India to reserve jobs for locals in the private sector. States like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka have also mentioned about reserving jobs for locals in the private sector, but none have implemented it yet.

The act also states that if locals don’t have the necessary skill sets, they must be trained and then hired. As a result, the companies will not be able to hide behind the excuse of not finding skilled labor.

Industries like petroleum, pharmaceuticals, coal, fertilizers and cement will be exempted from the act and government will take a call from them separately. Experts are claiming that the act is both good and bad. Good as it promotes local hiring and bad as training locals will need development centers.