Mumbai: In an effort to increase local representation in employment, the Jharkhand cabinet has approved an employment policy mandating 75% of private-sector jobs up to a salary of Rs 30,000 per month be reserved for local residents.According to an article published in the Indian Express, the state chief minister Hemant Soren is expected to announce the new policy in the upcoming assembly session.The state of Haryana had notified a similar policy of reserving 75% jobs in the private sector up to a specified salary for local candidates only recently.Soren’s decision is a result of growing unemployment in the state. According to the Economic Survey, the unemployment rate in Jharkhand rose to a peak of 59.2% around May last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height.Also read: A Year Into Hemant Soren’s Government in Jharkhand, Many Promises Remain UnfulfilledThe report in the national daily said that a few days ago, the chief minister had met with stakeholders in Delhi to discuss a draft Jharkhand Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy, 2021.The issue of determining who qualifies as a Jharkhandi has come up several times before as well. There are several operational issues involved in implementing the proposed policy. The question had led to the resignation of chief minister Babulal Marandi in 2002, and successive governments thereafter had refrained from touching the issue, the report pointed out.In 2016, the then chief minister Raghubar Das had notified a “relaxed domicile policy”, listing six ways in which one could be treated as a domicile of the state. This policy, however, was criticised as it did not give priority to tribals, for whom the state had come into existence.