And the figure does not include vacancies in public sector banks or public sector undertakings (PSUs). The workforce stretches from the massive Railways, Defence and Home establishments right up to the President’s Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office. At a time when unemployment and the scramble for government jobs remain major concerns for millions of young Indians, an RTI response has revealed a striking contrast: more than 8.23 lakh sanctioned posts lying vacant across central government civilian establishments.
More than one in every five posts that the government itself had sanctioned was without an employee in position, as per an RTI application filed by Neemuch-based activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur
Put simply, more than one in every five posts that the government itself had sanctioned was without an employee in position, as per the RTI application filed by Neemuch-based activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur. “These figures are worrying at a time of rising unemployment. Government jobs are the right of the youth. The government should begin the process of filling these vacant posts on the highest priority and in mission mode. And the empty chairs reach the very top of India’s administrative structure. The response provided ministry and department-wise sanctioned strength and the number of persons actually in position, exposing the enormous gap between the size of the administrative machinery sanctioned on paper and the workforce occupying those posts. The biggest hole is visible in one of the country’s most important establishments. These figures relate specifically to civilian defence employees and should not be confused with workforce vacancies in the army, navy or the air force.
Against an overall sanctioned strength of 39,23,212 posts, only 30,99,556 employees were in position as on March 1, 2024. That leaves a gap of 8,23,656 posts or roughly 21 per cent of the entire sanctioned civilian workforce covered by the statement. The President’s Secretariat had 803 sanctioned posts but only 516 people in position, leaving 287 posts vacant or 35.74 per cent of its sanctioned strength, according to the RTI data. The Prime Minister’s Office had 441 sanctioned posts against only 315 employees in position, leaving 126 vacant or 28.57 per cent. In its August 19 response, the Department of Expenditure’s Pay Research Unit said the latest available group-wise and status-wise estimated strength of regular central government civilian employees was as on March 1, 2024. The Defence Ministry’s civilian establishment had 5,56,248 sanctioned posts but only 3,14,005 employees in position, leaving an extraordinary 2,42,243 posts vacant. That works out to around 43.5 per cent of its sanctioned civilian strength.
This will provide employment to young people and also improve departmental efficiency,” Gaur said. In other words, more than a third of sanctioned posts in the President’s Secretariat and more than a quarter in the PMO were unoccupied according to the government’s own manpower statement.
