Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday favoured 'voluntary action' by the corporate sector in providing reservations in jobs for weaker sections even as he asserted that quota in private sector was unavoidable.

"It can be done through a voluntary action by the corporate sector," Singh told a news conference in response to a question.

When his attention was drawn to a Bill brought out by the Maharashtra government, Singh said: "If any government is going beyond it, then it is in their right."

The prime minister said he has asked Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who heads a group of ministers in this regard, to hold discussions with the private sector.

Asked about the opposition to reservations in private sector, Singh said: "Nobody can avoid it as it is going to be a national policy. Nobody can prevent an idea whose time as come."

Singh said corporate sector can devise a strategy to support the weaker sections, which are lagging behind either because of their background or inheritance.

'DPC capacity must be put to use'

Describing the non-utilisation of Dabhol Power Company's project as a 'matter of concern,' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday emphasised the need for finding ways and means to put the plant capacity to use.

"It is a matter of concern as a project ready to be commissioned is lying unutilised," Singh told a news conference in Mumbai when asked about the power project in coastal Konkan.