Nearly 979,000 posts vacant in central government departments: Centre

There are around 979,000 vacancies in the central government for different posts and departments, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday

There are around 9.79 lakh vacancies in the central government for different posts and departments, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

As per Annual Report of Pay Research Unit of Department of Expenditure, 9,79,327 posts are vacant under various ministries/departments of the central government, as on March 1, 2021, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply.

"Occurrence and filling up vacancies is a continuous process, as per the requirement of various ministries/departments/organisations of central government," he said.

The government has already issued instruction to all ministries/ departments for timely filling up of the unfilled posts, Singh said.

The Rozgar Melas being organised by Government of India are expected to act as catalyst in further employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in national development directly, he added.

In another reply, the minister said there were 1,472 vacant posts for Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers.

The state-wise sanctioned strength and the number of officers in position of Indian Administrative Service as per civil list 2022 is 6,789 and 5,317 respectively, he said.

Singh said, it is the endeavour of the central government to fill up the vacancies in the cadres.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts Civil Services Examination (CSE) for filling up of vacancies on direct recruitment basis in the category of Indian Administrative Service every year, he said.

In order to ensure optimal intake of directly recruited (DR) Indian Administrative Service officers, the Government has increased the annual intake of IAS officers to 180 through the Civil Services Examination since CSE-2012, on the basis of the recommendations of Baswan Committee, the minister said.

The Committee had also recommended that any number above 180 would "compromise quality"; "exceed the LBSNAA's capacity" and "lead to distortion in the career pyramid of IAS officers, particularly for senior posts in the Government of India", he said.

Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) is the the country's premier training institutes for the civil servants.