Payout to govt employees doubles in five years, strength shrinking

Establishment strength for latest years are estimates, which are usually scaled down to reflect the actual strength two years later

India's central government had 3.18 million employees in 2020, gradually reducing from 3.32 million in 2013, data released in the Union Budget 2022-23 shows. This generally falls in line with the first part of the "minimum government maximum governance" principle propounded by the current National Democratic Alliance government.

Though the strength of the central government is estimated to go up in 2021 and 2022 to 3.45 million, the actual number could be closer to the 2020 number of 3.18 million. For instance, the strength was stated as 3.45 million even for 2018, but was later revised downward. This