PhonePe CEO and founder Sameer Nigam expressed regret on Sunday for remarks he made regarding the Karnataka draft job reservation bill, saying he never meant to offend the government or its citizens. Nigam made this comment in response to some Kannada organizations launching the “Boycott Phone Pe” movement.
The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, was approved by the Karnataka Cabinet, and Nigam’s post on X prompted the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike and other pro-Kannada organizations and members to launch a social media boycott campaign against PhonePe. After stakeholders objected, the Karnataka government decided to withhold the bill, which required a 75% reservation for “local candidates” in non-management occupations and a 50% reservation for management posts in the private sector.
“I want to make it clear that it was never my intention to offend Karnataka or its people,” Nigam stated on Sunday. I sincerely apologize and extend my sincere apology to anyone whom my remarks may have offended in any manner.
PhonePe was founded in Bengaluru, and we are very proud of our history in this city, which is renowned for its dynamic variety and top-notch technological ability. Over the last ten years, we have grown throughout all of India, starting in Bengaluru, and we have served over 55 crore Indians with safe and effective digital payments, according to Nigam’s statement.
“As a company, we are deeply grateful for the supportive business environment provided by Karnataka’s governments and the local Kannadiga community,” Nigam added, praising Bengaluru’s status as the Silicon Valley of India and its “incredible culture of innovation. Bengaluru would not have emerged as a global leader in technology without such an open environment and forward-thinking laws.
“I sincerely apologize to anyone my remarks may have offended in any way. I hold Kannada and all other Indian languages in the highest regard. All Indians should be proud of their country’s linguistic diversity and rich cultural legacy, he continued, adding that they should also respect and value regional and cultural customs.
According to the CEO of PhonePe, Bengaluru’s entrepreneurs face competition from Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Amazon. To achieve this, these businesses need to be able to hire the top personnel in India solely based on their aptitude for technology and experience in areas like product management, machine learning, artificial intelligence, coding, design, and data sciences. That is the only way, as a country, that we can create world-class businesses that are competitive in the modern global village, he said.
There are 4,36,68,141 customers in Karnataka, and between January and March, their transactions totaled Rs 2,79,64,39,155, according to PhonePe.
