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Govt asks India Inc to act on quota
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New Delhi: Pushing hard for reservation in the private sector, the Centre on Tuesday asked industry to show its performance on this front in the first three months of the new year and told it that if the performance is not found to be satisfactory, the government will be compelled to enact a legislation to make reservation mandatory from the first quarter of 2007-08.
The Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ajay Dua, has asked India Inc to incorporate the data of the SC/STs recruited from January 1, 2007 onwards in their annual reports for the financial year ending March 2007.
"But if the department is not convinced with the quantum of voluntary affirmative action by companies, it will enact a legislation for mandatory reservation in Q1 of 2007-08," Dua wrote in a letter to the three prominent industry associations on February 23.
DIPP feels that incorporation of this data will reveal the seriousness of private sector on their commitment to affirmative action.
Last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked the private sector to come forward and voluntarily carve out space for SC/STs. Minister for social justice Meira Kumar had also sounded off India Inc that failure to act on their own would make them face a legislation.
However, the government later decided to avoid any legislative measure to make reservation mandatory in the private sector following a commitment on voluntary affirmative action from by industry bodies like Assocham and CII.
The industry bodies are upset with the letter, saying such a headcount could divide the factory floor along caste lines.
Dua's letter was addressed to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).
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