Against 6.83 lakh vacancies across various departments, the Centre is in the process of filling up 3,10,832 posts. The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MPPGP) provided this information to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The Ministry added that in FY20, three recruiting agencies -- Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and Railway Recruitment Board -- have made recommendations for the recruitment of 1,34,785 posts. This includes 4,399 vacancies in the UPSC and 13,995 posts in the SSC. Indian Railways is supposed to recruit over one lakh people this year.

“Further, recruiting agencies like the SSC, Railway Recruitment Board, Postal Service Board and Ministry of Defence are in the process of filling up 3,10,832 vacant posts, including 27,652 vacant posts of defence civilians,” the MPPGP stated in a written reply.

Tightening the process

The ministry added that to reduce the recruitment cycle, recruiting agencies have switched over to computer-based online tests; interviews for non-gazetted posts have been discontinued; and provisional appointments are being made pending verification of the antecedents of the candidates.

“Recruitment against vacant posts is a continuous process. By the time the vacancies reported by a department get filled up, some new vacancies arise,” it added.

Kendriya Vidyalayas across the country have 5,949 teaching posts lying vacant, against 48,236 sanctioned posts, it further said.

Popular choice

Government jobs remain a popular choice across India due to the perceived job stability and constant pay hikes. Real average daily wages for legislators, senior officials and managers nearly doubled between FY94 and FY12. This was the fastest rate of growth across occupational categories reported in the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) India Wage Report. The report further said legislators, senior officials and managers had seen their real wages go up by 98 per cent on an average, while “professionals” saw a 90 per cent jump in their salaries.

Salaries in urban India rose steadily during the period of high economic growth (FY94 to FY05) and this was especially so for those engaged in professional and administrative categories. The Pay Commissions, popular among government servants, contributed not just to higher government and public sector wages, but also had an impact on the wages of the private sector, particularly at the upper levels, the report highlighted.

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Central Government Vacancies: As per the annual report of the Pay Research Unit of the Department of Expenditure; Vacancies as on 01.03.2018(Source: Lok Sabha questions dated February 5, 2020)