Infosys chairman and chief mentor, N R Narayana Murthy, on Tuesday said reservations in education and employment should be based on economic criteria and not caste.
Talking to journalists in Bangalore on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry function, Murthy said reservations were a must in a country where certain sections of society have been discriminated against for thousands of years. "But these reservations must be based on economic criteria," he said.
"It [the reservations] cannot be based on a certain caste. It doesn't matter to what caste an individual belongs, as long as such a person or his/her family is handicapped because of resources...I think they alone deserve to be considered for reservation, be it in education or employment," Murthy said.
Murthy's observations came in response to Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna's remarks on Monday advocating reservations for weaker
sections in the private sector.
At a function to mark the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, Krishna said ensuring reservation in the private sector to weaker sections may be inevitable in the time to come.
"Globalisation and privatisation has seen a certain fall in our vigil against discrimination. To stem such failings, reservation must be made possible in the private sector too," Krishna said.
Asked whether merit should also be a criteria in reservations, he said a formula will have to be worked out where merit would also be recognised.
"At the same time, one cannot ignore the aspirations of those sections of society who were victims of exploitation for centuries," Murthy said.
Anyone who is econimcally backward deserves help from the State, Murthy said and added, "There are poor people in every community of this country. Every one of them deserves education and employment."