Jobs in Central Government Ministries and Departments are estimated to go up by over 2.74 lakh by the end of March in comparison to 2020. However, the biggest job provider, the Railways, has seen a dip of over 50,000 during this period.

According to data, provided under the title “Estimated Strength of Establishment and Provisions” in the Budget document related to expenditure, actual strength as on March 31, 2020, was over 31.80-lakh crore, which is estimated to grow to over 34.65 lakh by the end of March this year.

Data also highlighted expenses on pay, along with allowances and travel expenses, estimated to be over 4.22 lakh crore as against over 3.39 lakh crore, showing a growth of around 25 per cent. One of reasons for the increase in expenses is higher payout on account of dearness allowances during FY22 and FY23.

Strength in different ministries/departments

All but one Central Ministries and Departments showed estimated increase from March 2020 to 2022. Take the example of police under the Home Ministry, strength is estimated to go up over 11.42 lakh by the end of March this year as against 10.03 lakh, showing a growth of over 13 per cent. Similarly, strength in the department of post is estimated to rise to over 4.21 lakh as against 4.03 lakh, showing an increase of over 4 per cent.

However, the Railways is the only ministry/department where the strength is estimated to come down by March. The number was over 12.5 lakh at the end of March 2020, and is estimated to come down to a little over 12 lakh.

Shiv Gopal Mishra of All India Railwaymen’s Federation said the Railways has not filled more than 2.5 lakh vacancies. He said the process of railway examinations usually takes about a year and a half, and that after the pandemic, it has gotten delayed further.

“Many examinations have taken place recently. Railway Recruitment Board has conducted tests to fill up 34,800 posts in Non Technical Popular Categories (NTPC). The process of appointment will be completed by March. Apart from this, around one lakh vacancies are also being filled up. But even after that, around 2.5 lakh vacancies are there in Railways. As many as 50,000 retirements take place every year. Those posts also have to be filled up. Tests have been delayed since 2019. The selection and appointment from ongoing tests will take place in 2023-24,” he said.

Railway data is critical as recently States such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh witnessed violence and damage to railway properties on account of alleged irregularities in the results of first stage Computer Based Test (CBT) for recruitment of over 35,000 jobs. This led to the constitution of a High Power Committee to look into the concerns and doubts raised by the candidates. Also, the second stage CBT of 2019 exams was postponed, thereby resulting in a delay in the completion of recruitment process.