Corporate heads not in favour of religious profiling of staff
Press Trust of India / New Delhi Oct 02, 2009, 16:44 IST
The UPA government's proposal requiring public and private sector companies to maintain religious profile of their employees has not gone down well with several corporate leaders, though some say they can live with it.
Companies will have to build data base of their employees, including their religion, to enable the government implement minority welfare programmes under the oversight of the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC).
The data base will be used to find out whether a company has a desirable social diversity.
Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had said the government would bring before Parliament the EOC Bill in the winter session.
"It's the next major step that we will take in bringing minority and majority together in (our) concern for equality," he said.
Reacting to the proposal, Future Group Chief Executive Officer Kishore Biyani said the move would add to the problems in the society. "Our society is complicated and this will make it more complicated," he added.
President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Harsh Pati Singhania said though giving equal opportunities to diverse groups is a welcome proposal, "at work places it may not be conducive and may not lead to a healthy atmosphere."
This is a retrograde step to further divide the Pluralistic Society on religious lines and to remind its members about their religions.
Instead of playing such divisive politics, the Government will do better to step in at the Primary and Secondary School level to ensure that Quality education is available to all, to ensure improvement in the quality of the school products at the foundation stage. Once this is achieved, there will be automatic improvement in "Employee Mix" of a Company. It is another subject that Gulf/Saudi Employers are inducting very large number of Muslims from India into their Companies, creating shortage in Indian market for the Muslim category.
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