(NDTV)
After a whiplash of criticism, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today amended an earlier decision that made it necessary for any company entering a contract with his government to put aside half of the jobs created as part of the deal for backward castes.
“If you’re using government money and giving employment, then you have to follow the Reservation Act of the state,” the Chief Minister said today. “Although I am opposed to outsourcing, and the department should hire directly, we have made rules that if we are employing someone through outsourcing, then reservation policies should be followed.”
Last week, his cabinet said any government department looking to farm out work to a private company would have to follow a 50 per cent reservation policy. But the Chief Minister today clarified that affirmative action policies would apply only if people are being recruited for the government departments – so a contract for IT services would be exempt, for example.
