Up For Grabs: 10 lakh government jobs in the next year and a half as Modi races to recruit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked various government departments and ministries to undertake the recruitment of 10 lakh people in "mission mode" in the next year and a half, his office said on June 14.

The direction from Modi came following a review of the status of human resources in all government departments and ministries, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

The decision comes amid opposition's frequent criticism of unemployment. A large number of vacant posts in different government sectors has often been flagged.

There were more than 8.72 lakh vacant posts in central government departments as on March 1, the government had earlier this year informed parliament. The central government has over 40 lakh posts sanctioned, but less than 32 lakh employees are in place. The government has been trying to fill up these vacancies over the years, but not with much success, News18 reported.
The big ministries and departments like Posts, Defence (Civil), Railways and Revenue have the most vacancies. As per details with News18, against nearly 15 lakh sanctioned posts in the Railways, about 2.3 lakh posts are vacant in the Railways Ministry.

The Defence (Civil) department has approximately 2.5 lakh vacancies against a sanctioned manpower of nearly 6.33 lakh workers. There are over 90,000 openings in the Posts department, out of a total sanctioned strength of 2.67 lakh employees, and nearly 74,000 vacancies in the Revenue department, out of a total sanctioned strength of 1.78 lakh personnel.

In the Ministry of Home Affairs, against 10.8 lakh sanctioned posts, nearly 1.3 lakh posts are unoccupied.

A senior government official explained to News18 that several departments' work has been hampered by a severe scarcity of staff, and fresh recruitment has been slow, despite the fact that retirements have occurred and the sanctioned strength of employees in ministries has increased over time. The action could help quell opposition criticism on the issue of unemployment ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

India's workforce

As per data provided by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), 8 million people joined the country's workforce in April - possibly one of the largest surge since the beginning of the pandemic.

However, the unemployment rate in India rose to 7.83% in April from 7.60% in March, according to a report by CMIE.

Even though Modi has prioritised jobs, pushing India to endeavour for “amrit kaal”, or a golden era of growth, his administration has made limited progress in addressing India's challenges regarding job creation.

India needs to create at least 90 million new non-farm jobs by 2030 if it wants to stay ahead of the youth bulge, according to a 2020 report by McKinsey Global Institute.

(With PTI inputs)