9,79,000 lakh vacancies in central government departments: Centre

New Delhi: There are around 9.79 lakh vacancies in the central government for different posts and departments, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

As per the Annual Report of the Pay Research Unit of the Department of Expenditure, 9,79,327 posts are vacant under various ministries/departments of the central government, as on March 1, 2021, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply.

"Occurrence and filling up vacancies is a continuous process, as per the requirement of various ministries/departments/organisations of the central government," he said.

The government has already issued instructions to all ministries/ departments for the timely filling up of the unfilled posts, Singh said.

The Rozgar Melas being organised by the Government of India are expected to act as catalysts in further employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in national development directly, he added.

In another reply, the minister said there were 1,472 vacant posts for Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers.

The state-wise sanctioned strength and the number of officers in the position of Indian Administrative Service as per the civil list 2022 is 6,789 and 5,317 respectively, he said.

Singh said it is the endeavour of the central government to fill up the vacancies in the cadres.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts Civil Services Examination (CSE) for filling up of vacancies on direct recruitment basis in the category of Indian Administrative Service every year, he said.

In order to ensure optimal intake of directly recruited (DR) Indian Administrative Service officers, the Government has increased the annual intake of IAS officers to 180 through the Civil Services Examination since CSE-2012, on the basis of the recommendations of the Baswan Committee, the minister said.

The Committee had also recommended that any number above 180 would "compromise quality"; "exceed the LBSNAA’s capacity" and "lead to distortion in the career pyramid of IAS officers, particularly for senior posts in the Government of India", he said.

Mussoorie-based Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) is the country's premier training institute for civil servants.