Women's reservation is part of the Congress manifesto

33% reservation for women in government contract jobs

75,000 employees hold contract jobs in government departments

The Karnataka government on May 20 issued an order mandating reservations for outsourced government contract jobs across all departments, reserving 33% of these positions for women. This initiative was part of the Congress manifesto announced during the assembly polls last year and aligns with the reservation policy for permanent government positions.

Currently, over 75,000 employees hold outsourced jobs in government departments. Typically, the government hires third-party agencies to fill Group-C and Group-D positions, such as drivers and data-entry operators.

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The new order, issued by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, specifies that the reservation policy applies to outsourced jobs lasting more than 45 days and employing over 20 people. It also stipulates that if an employee resigns, the vacancy must be filled by someone from the same reservation category.

Furthermore, the order requires departments issuing tenders or seeking exemptions under the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act to ensure that outsourcing agencies provide detailed information about their employees to the tendering agency. These agencies must also submit caste certificates of their personnel before deployment.

This move follows a directive from the previous BJP government in May 2022, which mandated a 33% reservation for women in outsourced employment. Karnataka currently has 2.5 lakh vacant government positions against a sanctioned strength of 7.72 lakh posts across 43 departments.