NEW DELHI: Aiming to boost employment, the Centre has asked its ministries and departments to take time-bound action to fill the existing vacancies. The issue was raised in a meeting of the cabinet committee on investment and growth chaired by the Prime Minister, DoPT has asked the ministries to report the number of vacancies and submit an action taken report.

“All the ministries and departments are requested to fill up the existing vacancies in the concerned Ministries and Departments, their Attached and Subordinate Offices, in a time-bound manner,” said the letter issued by the DoPT on January 21. DoPT has also requested that a report with regard to vacancies be sent to it by the 5th day of every month. 

DoPT has also referred to its 2016 circulation where it requested that advance action may be taken by the ministries or departments and their attached and subordinate offices for reporting vacancy position with respect to Direct Recruitment (DR) posts to the concerned recruitment agency including Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Staff Selection Commission (SSC) etc, for filling up of such Direct Recruitment vacancies in a timely manner.

The Central government is concerned over poor job situations in the country and officials said that the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth in the meeting held on December 12 last year directed to take time-bound action to fill the existing vacancies in various ministries or departments.

The total number of vacant positions in Central government ministries and departments has risen from 4,12,752 in March 2016 to 6,83,823 in March 2018,  according to government data. The increase is pegged at 65 percent.

Indian railways have maximum vacancies
Indian Railways has as many as 2,59,369 vacant posts. Railway ministry last year had announced that there would be about 2.50 lakh fresh vacancies in Indian railways soon. The ministry said that the process for 1.50 lakh vacancies was underway.