India's...government has on the anvil controversial legislation that would see jobs reserved for ‘dalits'...in private corporations after a pattern that has long existed in the public sector. Opposition to the proposed law is already building up from influential industrialists and others who see it as negative discrimination that would hamper a new drive by Indian companies to become globally competitive. But others see it as essential to a slow but long-standing programme of affirmative action...federal minister for social justice Meira Kumar...claimed that some of India's top entrepreneurs like K. Narayana Murthy of the software giant 'Infosys' and Kumaramangalam Birla of the Aditya Birla Group were in support of reserving jobs...Opponents of reservation, on the grounds that it would inhibit merit, include industrialist and CII [Confederation of Indian Industry] chief Anand Mahindra [managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra]...Says Surjit S Bhalla, principal, Oxus Investments: "This is not the day and age for job reservation in private firms even if a section of India's politicians support the move..." [also refers to Ford, General Motors, Suzuki, Honda, Mitsubuishi (Mitsubishi Motors)]