Sameer Nigam, founder and CEO of digital payment gateway start-up PhonePe, on Sunday apologised for his comments on the draft Bill for job reservation for Kannadigas. 

On July 17, Mr. Nigam took to X and posted: “I am 46 years old. Never lived in a state for 15+ yrs. My father worked in the Indian Navy. Got posted all over the country. His kids don’t deserve jobs in Karnataka? I build companies. Have created 25000+ jobs across India! My kids don’t deserve jobs in their home city? Shame”.

Following this, #UninstallPhonePe trended on X and many expressed their ire over his opposition to the draft Bill. This probably prompted the statement from Mr. Nigam on Sunday. 

Stressing that PhonePe was born in Bengaluru, he said: “The city thrives on an incredible culture of innovation, and attracts the most brilliant young minds from Karnataka and the rest of India. As a company, we are deeply grateful for the supportive business environment that Karnataka’s governments and its local Kannadiga populace have offered us”. 

“As a company we also thrive on celebrating diversity, we have always tried hard to deliver fair, unbiased and meritocracy-based employment opportunities for all Indians including to all local Kannadigas. We believe such an approach gives every Indian a good job a chance to shine, and ultimately helps create more societal and economic value for Bengaluru, Karnataka and India,” he said.

Further commenting on job creation in the city, Mr. Nigam said: “I also want to help create lakhs of jobs for Bengaluru and Karnataka. And, I believe with more dialogue and discussion, we can find ways to create more sustainable employment avenues. Let’s all work together to do this meaningfully and while creating long-term impact”.