PhonePe CEO apologises for lashing out at Karnataka reservation bill

Sameer Nigam, chief executive officer and founder of fintech giant PhonePe, on Sunday evening, offered an unconditional apology if his recent statement related to Karnataka's job reservation bill had hurt anyone’s sentiments. Nigam recently voiced strong opposition to the Karnataka government’s proposed private jobs quota bill, which seeks to reserve a substantial portion of private sector jobs for locals. Though Karnataka has paused the bill after pushback from tech companies, Nigam of PhonePe has drawn the ire of many Kannadigas following his criticism of the state government's proposed job quota bill. “I read some recent media articles, relating to a few personal comments that I made last week regarding the draft job reservation bill. I would first and foremost like to clarify that it was never my intention to insult Karnataka and its people,” said Nigam on Sunday. “If my comments hurt anyone’s sentiments in such a way, I am truly sorry and would like to offer you an unconditional apology. I have the highest regard for Kannada, and all other Indian languages. In fact, I truly believe that linguistic diversity and rich cultural heritage are a national asset that all Indians should be proud of; and all Indians should be respectful of and celebrate local and cultural norms,” said Nigam.