The UPA government appears to have all but abandoned its pledge to pursue reservations for SC/STs in the private sector, favouring the ?affirmative action? approach.

Social justice and empowerment minister Mukul Wasnik conceded as much in an interview to FE when he said that the UPA government was only looking at affirmative action in ensuring a fair deal for Dalits and tribals in industry at the moment. ?A particular course of action, aimed at affirmative action, has already been adopted. I don?t think there should be multiple mechanisms,? Wasnik said to a pointed question on whether the Manmohan Singh government would pursue quotas for SCs/STs in the private sector.

The government came in for criticism recently in Parliament when Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha slammed the ministry of social justice and empowerment for failing to pursue the issue. CPI?s D Raja led other members in demanding that the government keep its promise of introducing quotas in the private sector.

In its common minimum programme, the previous UPA government had taken a clear position: ?The UPA government is very sensitive to the issue of affirmative action, including reservations, in the private sector. It will immediately initiate a national dialogue with all political parties, industry and other organisations to see how best the private sector can fulfill the aspirations of SC and ST youth,? it had said. In its 2009 manifesto, the Congress, however, had restricted itself to stating that it was in favour of ?affirmative action?.

Claiming that industry had already adopted concrete steps on affirmative action, Wasnik said that the government now had to follow up on the matter. ?We are committed towards it. It is, after all, the social responsibility of industrial houses,? the minister said, adding that chambers of commerce like CII, Assocham, and

Ficci had already adopted a code of conduct for affirmative action by their respective members. ?There is a mention of developing skills by the respective companies. Apart from this, companies, on a voluntary basis, will also include data on the number of SC/ST employees in their annual reports. I think a beginning has already been made and some companies have begun providing the data?, he said.

The minister added that a committee of officers headed by the secretary, department of promotion, had already initiated efforts to suggest incentives for companies that were set up in areas having high concentration of SCs/STs, so that employment opportunities went directly to members of the deprived classes.