The Karnataka government on Thursday tabled a Bill in the Legislative Assembly to provide reservation to Kannadigas in higher education. The Bill also proposes to deny incentives to industries that do not give priority to a prescribed percentage of locals in jobs, PTI reported.

The Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Bill, 2022, defines Kannadigas as those who have resided in the southern state for not less than 15 years and can read and write Kannada.

Kannada and Culture Minister V Sunil Kumar tabled the Bill, saying that its purpose is to promote “extensive use and propagation” of the Kannada language.

The proposed legislation stated that students who have studied in Kannada medium from Classes 1 to 10 will get reservation in higher education. The Bill added that the language will be taught in higher, technical and professional education courses.

The Bill also said that industrial establishments not giving reservation to Kannadigas, according to the state’s industrial policy, will not be eligible for rebates, tax exemptions and incentives. All those who want to get a government job should pass a Kannada language exam. However, persons who passed Class 10 with Kannada as first or second language are exempted from this requirement.

Industries and commercial establishments who violate the Bill’s provisions will be fined Rs 5,000 for first time offence, Rs 10,000 for second time and Rs 20,000 for the third time. The Kannada language should be used for all the official and administrative purposes and correspondences in Karnataka, according to the Bill.