Andhra Pradesh Becomes First State to Reserve 75% of Private Jobs for Locals

On Monday, Andhra Pradesh became the first state in India to set aside jobs for young local people, when its Assembly passed a law titled the “Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in Industries/Factories Act, 2019”. The law reserves 75 per cent of posts in factories, industrial units, joint ventures and projects run under the public-private partnership model for local people.

What the law says

Under the new Act, a company that cannot find local workers with the skills it needs must train them in partnership with the state government. This is intended to stop firms from citing a shortage of skilled local workers as a reason not to hire them.

An election promise

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had promised a quota in local jobs during his ‘padyatra’ across the state, and it was also part of his election promises. His government had earlier announced 1.33 lakh village volunteer posts for unemployed young people. Reddy had said he wanted to put the quota into effect over three years and was confident of persuading industry to accept it.

Other states

Several states have floated the idea of reserving jobs for locals. The most recent is Madhya Pradesh, where Chief Minister Kamal Nath said on July 9 that he would bring a law reserving 70% of jobs for local people, a promise made after the Congress came to power there in December 2018.

Background

In the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly election the YSR Congress Party won 151 seats and the Telugu Desam Party 23, and Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy became Chief Minister.

See also: YSR Congress Party | Elections

Originally published on 23 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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