Forum of govt. officials flags Centre’s vague reply on jobs, vacancies 

Union MoS Jitendra Singh.
| Photo Credit: PTI

A body of Central government officials has raised concerns regarding vague replies given by the government in Parliament on data related to vacancies and recruitments in Central ministries and departments.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), in a reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday (December 4, 2024), said that the details of vacancies and contractual hirings are “maintained by respective Ministries.” Records suggest that at least till 2022, DoPT did provide the data while responding to questions by the members of Parliament. On July 27, 2022, DoPT informed the Lok Sabha that since 2014, over 7.22 lakh people got permanent Central government jobs for which more than 22 crore applications were received.

On Wednesday, responding to a question by Congress MPs K. Sudhakaran, Mohammad Javed, Dean Kuriakose and Harish Chandra Meena on details of the number of vacancies, permanent and contractual appointments in the Central government, and the steps taken/being taken by the government to fill the vacancies, Minister Jitendra Singh said in a written response that “occurrence and filling up of vacant posts in various Ministries/ Departments is a continuous process.”

“The contractual appointments in Government Department are made by the individual Ministries/Departments strictly based on their requirements, in accordance with the provisions of General Financial Rules, 2017. Vacant posts have been filled up in mission mode, in Rozgar Melas launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 22nd October, 2022. 13 Rozgar Melas have been held at Central level in 40-45 cities across various States/ Union Territories,” the reply stated without providing the numbers.

Ashutosh Misra, general secretary, Central Secretariat Service (CSS) Forum, said that DoPT should develop a centralised system for updating employment data in Parliament.

“There are a number of personnel working on contract in Ministries. Other than this, there is a sizeable number of employees belonging to other States or departments who have been attached to Ministries based on verbal orders. They draw salaries from their respective departments but work here. It could also pose a risk to national security due to lack of accountability,” said Mr. Misra.

He stated that the cadre review of the CSS officials is on hold for the past two years. The review has the potential to generate regular employment as it examines the human resources requirement for the next 10 years, Mr. Misra said.

In a separate reply on Wednesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha that as on October 30 this year, there were 1,00,204 vacancies in the Central Armed Police Force. The reply added that 71,231 posts have been created since 2020.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) are the two designated recruitment agencies administered by DoPT.

The 2023-24 annual report of DoPT states that in the financial year 2023-24, SSC, which conducts examinations for Group B and Group C posts, recommended 1,41,487 candidates for selection. Some of the exams were held in 2020, the results of which were declared during 2023-24. In the same period, over 2.5 crore aspirants applied for various jobs.

The report said that in 2022-23, UPSC recommended 4,195 candidates for appointment to various posts.