Reduce tenure of government staff to create more job opportunities, suggests Kumaraswamy

Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy. (File photo)

UNION HEAVY Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy admitted on Friday that the country is facing a job crisis, especially among engineering graduates. The admission came amid a discussion the minister held in Bengaluru with youth on recruitment scams in the Karnataka Public Service Commission.

During the discussion, Kumarawamy also proposed a system where government employees retire after 15 to 20 years of tenure instead of the current 35 years — to allow employment for jobless youth.

“Thousands of engineering graduates do not have jobs. We talk about creating lakhs of jobs but I have seen the ground reality,” Kumaraswamy said.

“Every morning dozens of engineers approach me seeking jobs. There are electronic engineers, computer engineers, mechanical engineers and AI engineers. Around 50 of these engineering graduates approach me every day – some of them are from villages and have studied after paying large donations to colleges.”

“In the private sector there is the hire and fire type of policies where you have employment for six to seven months and are then sent out. In the government sector there is a shortage of nearly 2.5 lakh people. I am saying this frankly,” he said.

At the state level, the government must recruit for its 34 departments in January every year in a time-bound manner through the KPSC on the lines of UPSC recruitment, he said.

The former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader said there were many hurdles to clearing up the recruitment mess in the KPSC. “There is a lot of time being wasted. The focus is now entirely on the veterinary doctors recruitment fraud and this will go on for three to four months until people lose interest in it,” he said.

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“We will see what happens in the 2028 elections. I am not in a position to implement your suggestions at present. But if I am elected in 2028 I promise to implement changes,” he said.

The Union minister suggested reduction of service tenures of government employees to create more opportunities for unemployed youth in order to ensure that every family has access to at least one government job. “Think about this idea. Once a person enters government service, they typically remain in the job for around 35 years. What if we reduce that period to 10, 15 or 20 years, with the objective of ensuring that every family gets at least one government job? This could help create opportunities for many more people,” he said.

Under the model, employees who complete their defined tenure would be eligible for pension and retirement benefits and this would expand access to government employment and contribute to tackling unemployment.

“If I get an opportunity in the future, I intend to explore the possibility of implementing such a plan…,” he said.

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“Unemployment is growing at an alarming rate, and the system is failing to provide deserving candidates with adequate opportunities in government service. I am thinking seriously about possible solutions. Please remember this proposal, discuss it and share opinions,” he said.

Kumaraswamy said the KPSC had transformed into a den of corruption and had moved away from its purpose of identifying eligible candidates for state jobs through transparent and impartial processes. “There are serious allegations of jobs being sold for money, and those entrusted with the responsibility of conducting recruitment are themselves facing questions over their conduct,” he said.