The Hindu : National : Job reservation not the answer: Munjal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 22, 2004

National

National

Job reservation not the answer: Munjal

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 21. India Inc. wants a growth and reform-oriented budget; expects the United Progressive Alliance Government's first budget to toe the line taken by the Government in the previous two budgets; and has serious reservations over the reported move to reserve jobs for the weaker sections in the private sector too.

These sentiments, virtually summing up the expectations of India Inc. from the Union budget, were aired by the new CII president, Sunil Kant Munjal, at his first press conference here after a new team led by him assumed charge.

He chose the occasion to outline his team's agenda for building a prosperous India.

Without committing himself on his organisation's stand on reservation of jobs for the weaker section, Mr. Munjal said that introduction of reservation in the private sector was not the answer to that section's problem. A patchwork approach would not work in an environment of global competition.

Even the private sector was keen on creation of more employment and the answer perhaps lay in upgrading skills and giving the right kind of training in trades for which there was demand.

"Merit cannot be compromised. We are not quiet (on the issue of reservation in private sector)... we cannot afford to compromise competitiveness in the corporate sector.

Rather than a patchwork approach, the Government should try to upgrade the skills of the backward section." He promised to come out with an in-depth paper outlining his organisation's stand on the issue.

The CII was also trying to help members of the weaker section by providing them the requisite skills for a competitive edge in the job market. "We have already initiated a dialogue with the Government on the issue, but merit will not be compromised.

It is unfortunate that many polytechnics are still providing training in areas like typing which has become totally obsolete now. Counselling and coaching should be provided to the downtrodden to make them confident, rather than providing reservation."

Mr. Munjal was confident that there would be no slowdown in economic reforms, no matter what the Left parties had to say on the subject. He referred to the reforms undertaken by the West Bengal Government and said that the Left would not be able to hold back or stop reforms. Except in the cases of disinvestment and labour, there were no other areas where reforms should take a backseat.

As part of the CII's agenda, he proposed a five per cent cess on passengers to develop railway infrastructure and exuded confidence that a 7 to 8 per cent GDP growth was achievable in the next decade, provided reform measures were on track. This would lead to a doubling of per capita income in the next 10 years.

Talking about the challenge of sustaining the requisite growth, he said the agriculture sector should grow at the rate of at least three per cent. The present rate was 2.8 per cent. Industry and services should post a nine per cent rise.

By giving a proper thrust to manufacturing, the country would be able to generate millions of jobs, which would help 230 million youth by 2020. The services and tourism sectors were among those that had a high growth potential.

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