Explained | What Haryana’s 75% private sector job quota for locals means

The north Indian state is home to some of the biggest industries, most notably the auto industry, and a large number of multinational corporations

Haryana on Tuesday notified a Bill mandating a whopping 75 per cent reservation to job seekers from the state in private companies after receiving assent from the state's Governor. The law, formally known as the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 was passed by the Assembly late last year.

It also mandates that locals be paid up to Rs 50,000 by their employers.

The north Indian state is home to some of the biggest industries, most notably the auto industry - the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Honda, and the spare parts and components industries, in and around Gurugram and Manesar.

Gurugram, in particular, also hosts some of the largest IT and BPO companies.

Reserving 75 per cent jobs for locals, a law billed as "populist" was a campaign promise of Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala. It has been proposed to be implemented for a 10-year period.

Read | Haryana Governor gives assent to Bill giving 75% quota to state people in private sector jobs

The law is yet to define who is considered to be a local and who is not, although the state grants 'domicile' status to anyone born in Haryana or those who have lived there for 15 years.

As mentioned before, Haryana is home to some of the biggest companies, many of whom have set up their headquarters in and around Gurugram. A large number of these private companies' workforce comes from outside the state.

Many executives have argued that the quota defeats the ideals of meritocracy and will dent the industry's competitiveness and the state's economic recovery.

Nasscom's public policy head Ashish Agarawal told The Economic Times that such a move by the Manohar Lal Khattar government is "incompatible" with the Centre's "work from anywhere agenda."

IT executives warned of a possible "exodus" if the law is implemented.