Two key panels urge Karnataka government to align recruitments with changing economy

The protestation by aspirants for nationalist employment successful Dharwad seems to person enactment the ruling dispensation nether pressure, portion astir 36% of the sanctioned posts successful the State authorities are presently lying vacant. The Opposition has been speedy to prehend the accidental and widen enactment to the protesting candidates.

While the State government’s existent predicament comes astir the disorder and judicial involution successful the interior preservation contented that has stalled recruitment for astir a twelvemonth now, 2 cardinal commissions — reports of which were submitted to the authorities successful caller months — person cautioned the authorities against “automatic” replacement of retiring staff.  

Planning sheet report

The Karnataka Policy and Planning Commission, headed by B.R. Patil, which submitted its study recently, is learnt to person cautioned the authorities against filling up existing vacancies connected “as-is” basis, particularly successful the module recruitment for Karnataka’s higher acquisition system. Of the 24,788 posts successful higher education, 13,599 are presently vacant and the authorities has sanctioned filling up of 2,000 posts.

The acquisition sub-committee successful the committee is learnt to person pointed retired that hiring without re-thinking the higher education’s aboriginal runs the hazard of misalignment with rapidly evolving economy, which is being driven by Artificial Intelligence, automation, and emerging industries. The sub-committee, sources said, was not against recruitment and besides acknowledged important shortage of teaching unit crossed authorities grade colleges and State universities.

“Technological shifts specified arsenic AI, digitisation, and caller labour models, person reduced market’s reliance connected generic degrees. Many accepted grade programmes crossed societal sciences, humanities, and wide sciences were historically valued for symbolic grade superior alternatively than job-linked competence,” the root explained.

Further, the root said: “Sanctioned module posts bespeak older disciplinary boundaries, program modes, and staffing patterns. A unsighted recruitment workout has hazard of locking nationalist resources into outdated programme architecture that whitethorn nary longer service societal oregon economical priorities.”

Against automatic replacement

Meanwhile, though the 2nd Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission headed by R.V. Deshpande identified 2.94 lakh vacant posts arsenic against the sanctioned spot of 8.16 lakh successful the State, it besides cautioned against automatic replacement of retiring unit and has called for periodic reappraisal of sanctioned posts, too abolition of redundant and obsolete posts.  

Interestingly, successful the Backward Classes Welfare Department, the ARC identified 240 BE graduates, 180 MTech graduates, and astir 2,000 MCA/BBA/BCA graduates moving arsenic room and allied staff, revealing the desperation for authorities job. A important fig of BE/ MTech/MCA graduates are moving arsenic archetypal part and 2nd part clerks oregon inferior assistants.

Though it has recommended recruitment successful a time-bound manner, the ARC besides asked the authorities to reappraisal posts to warrant afresh with existent relevance and necessity.

Sub-classification issue

Public recruitments successful Karnataka has been deed implicit the past year-and-a-half implicit the contented of Scheduled Castes sub-classification pursuing the August 2024 bid of the Supreme Court. While the recruitment had been stopped for astir a year, the authorities has relaxed the property eligibility criteria to supply a accidental for candidates who person crossed the property limit. However, with the sub-classification lawsuit being heard successful the Karnataka High Court, recruitments person been hit. However, connected Thursday, the State authorities decided to instrumentality to 50% quota and restart recruitment process.

The outgo of recruitment

The request to capable up 2.94 lakh vacant posts is coming astir a clip erstwhile the stock of committed expenditure that includes salaries and pension has gone up, particularly aft the implementation of the wage committee recommendations. While the estimated expenditure connected salaries is ₹85,860 crore for 2025-2026, pension was ₹37,655 crore, which is astir 40% of the gross expenditure that was pegged astatine ₹3.11 lakh crore. The backing for 5 warrant schemes — estimated to beryllium astir ₹55,000 crore — has lone widened gross deficit. The Finance Department — implicit the years and crossed each governments — has besides been pugnacious connected the question of hiring of unit that is contributing to the ballooning gross expenditure.

(This is the 2nd of a three-part series)