Local Job Quotas

There has been a rising desire from people in the states to provide local jobs in their own states.

A 2016 survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) found that almost two-thirds of respondents were in favour of giving policy priority to citizens from the state itself.

In the southern and eastern nations, this sentiment was more profound.
Different political parties and states have attempted to use reservations as a major polling plank.
In this regard, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in Industries / Factories Act, under which 75 percent of private jobs will be reserved for local Andhra citizens across all factories, joint ventures, and industries in the state, including those taken up under the public-private partnership mode.
Similar standards are being posed in other states, such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

Recently, Madhya Pradesh (MP) also declared that it would enact legislation to include reservations for locals for 70% of private jobs.

REASONS BEHIND DEMAND FOR LOCAL JOBS

Agrarian Distress - -There is tremendous stress on the agricultural sector across the world, and young people are desperate to leave the sector.
Lack of jobs- Employment (private and government) is severely missing. The job opportunities are not only too few but they are insecure, and they don't pay well too.
Displacement of landowners- Since the acquisition of private agricultural land meets most of the land requirements, the landowners are displaced and deprived of their occupation and thus lose their income.
Lack of participation of all sections in the workforce-Several studies, such as the State of Working India 2018 released by the Azim Premji University Centre for Sustainable Jobs, have shown that discrimination is one of the reasons for Dalits and Muslims being under-represented in the corporate sector.
The perception that central devolution is inadequate - especially in the southern states, since they feel that successive finance commissions offer a high weighting to poverty and population vis-a - is growth, so the majority share goes to the northern states.

ANALYSIS

The legal oversight cannot be passed-as Article 16 does not allow the state government to make such a reservation, rather Parliament is empowered to do so.

Politically driven move — Govt. only uses reservations instead of tackling main problems such as structural reforms.
Dangerous for the country's unity- Such steps could lead to a Pandora box where other states are beginning to enforce such policies, resulting in fractures in India's unity.
Industry issues- While most units only hire locals, there are some industries where it might be difficult to find locals for employment and the units may be forced to look outside.
Difficult to attract investment- After bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh is already struggling to attract investment in various sectors. A decision of this nature could further alienate potential investors. The lack of investment could limit job growth even more.
Lack of knowledge- Although it describes 'local' as candidates domiciled in the state of Andhra Pradesh, it does not elaborate on the 'domicile' status criteria.
Previous attempts have not been successful, such as Maharashtra and Karnataka who announced a package on this basis, but they have not been implemented yet.

WAY FORWARD

The central problems of unemployment need to be solved by further job growth and industrialization rather than such steps.
Governments should provide incentives for industry to spend more and build an encouraging atmosphere for industry to do so. The 2018-19 Economic Survey also warns policymakers of certain policy uncertainties for industries that may have an impact on economic growth.
The Government should concentrate on making the youth of a state employable with adequate investment in education, health and skills growth.
The need to encourage labor-intensive industries- to make use of the country's labour surplus, rather than simply pushing the locals to use some industry.
Need to promote entrepreneurship, where individuals are themselves motivated to provide them with livelihoods.
As for Dalit entrepreneurs in Maharashtra, the state can provide incentives and support here.
Instead of further extension of reservation policies using unproductive rationales, the need to shift towards economic reservation.