Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday announced that government jobs would now be reserved for the state’s youth, ANI reported.

“Our government has taken an important decision today,” he said. “We will be taking necessary legal steps so that government jobs in Madhya Pradesh are only given to the state’s youth.”

In his Independence Day speech on August 15, the chief minister had assured that preference would be given to local youths for public sector jobs in the state. “It is our duty to be concerned about the youths of our state at a time when job opportunities are scarce,” Chouhan added. “We will put in place such a mechanism that will ensure employment to local youths on the basis of their mark- sheets of Class 10 and 12.”

Last year, former chief minister Kamal Nath had said the state government is considering a law to ensure 70% jobs to local youths in the private sector. The Bharatiya Janata Party had dismissed his comments as a gimmick.