A proposal to cap government employment tenures at 10 to 15 years — after which departing staff would receive a monthly pension of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 — formed the centrepiece of remarks made by HD Kumaraswamy in his dual capacity as Union Minister and state-level JD(S) leader. The proposal was framed around expanding access to public-sector positions across a greater number of households.
Advancing the proposal, Kumaraswamy noted, would depend on his party taking office after the 2028 election. Speaking with job-seekers gathered in Vijayanagar — an area recognised for its concentration of competitive exam coaching institutes — he indicated that the proposal would apply only to future appointments. He noted that a government employee typically holds a post for 30 to 35 years and that the arrangement provides financial stability for the employee's household throughout that period.
He raised the question of what provisions exist for families without government employment. Under the proposal put forward for public discussion, an upper age threshold would bar individuals from entering or continuing in government roles, though those who step away at that point would retain the right to work in the private sector and draw a monthly pension. He contended that, if adopted, the policy framework holds the potential to bring at least one household member into public employment across the population, and urged stakeholders to carry the idea into open debate.
Kumaraswamy noted that large numbers of engineering graduates were without work, adding that around 50 of them came to him each day seeking assistance. He observed that those placed in private-sector roles tended to lose those positions within six months. He also pointed out that the state government alone holds around 2.5 lakh unfilled posts.
Speaking at 'KPSC Charche with HDK', a public engagement forum, he voiced support for open recruitment processes, accountability over examination irregularities, and the introduction of a fixed yearly hiring schedule. The Karnataka Public Service Commission had forfeited the trust of the public, he argued, pointing to the need for an overhaul that would bring in an independent mechanism for selecting members and firm consequences for anyone found to have engaged in malpractice.
He put forward a proposal for a yearly hiring schedule modelled on the Union Public Service Commission's approach, urging that department-by-department vacancies be assessed each January so that the recruitment process could proceed without delay. He also noted that he was not in a position to commit to acting on the demands immediately, adding that his current role extended only as far as advising the government on available courses of action.
He added that the outcome in 2028 remained to be seen. Kumaraswamy pointed to his party's performance at the polls, expressing the view that voters remained willing to support it. A source noted that the party currently lacks nominees positioned to attract those particular voters. Fault for that situation, in Kumaraswamy's telling, rested with members of his own faction.
