In a significant move aimed at addressing unemployment concerns, the Government of Karnataka decided to initiate the recruitment process for 56,432 vacant posts across various departments within 30 days.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting held in Bengaluru. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said the move was taken keeping in mind the aspirations of graduate youth in the state.
“All heads of departments have been directed to begin the recruitment process within 30 days,” he said after the meeting.
The decision follows a massive protest by government job aspirants in Dharwad, nearly 400 km from Bengaluru, earlier this week. According to official data, more than 2.7 lakh posts remain vacant across government departments and state-run corporations, many of them unfilled for several years.
Recruitments in Karnataka have largely been stalled for over two years due to legal challenges related to reservation policies. The previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had increased reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) from 15 per cent to 17 per cent and for Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 3 per cent to 7 per cent. However, the move was challenged before the High Court of Karnataka, with petitioners arguing that the hike breached the 50 per cent reservation ceiling set by the Supreme Court of India.
The High Court stayed the 2022 order implementing the enhanced quotas, leading the state government to put all recruitment processes on hold, including those for which notifications had already been issued. Additionally, the government’s decision to provide internal reservation among different SC groups within the 18 per cent quota has also been challenged in court, further delaying appointments.
Clarifying the current approach, Patil said the government would proceed with recruitment based on the earlier reservation percentages — 15 per cent for SCs and 3 per cent for STs — while adhering to the 50 per cent overall cap. However, an additional 2 per cent for SCs and 4 per cent for STs will be kept reserved as per the revised quotas.
“These posts will be filled if the court upholds the hike,” he added.
The move is expected to provide relief to thousands of job aspirants awaiting government employment opportunities across the state.
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