More than 8.23 lakh, or nearly 21 per cent of all posts in various Central government departments, are vacant, a Right to Information (RTI) report has revealed.

The RTI data, revealed on the application of activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur from Neemuch, shows that more than one in five sanctioned positions under the central government is unfilled.

The data does not include the vacancies in the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). As per the data till March 1, 2024, there were a total of 39,23,212 sanctioned posts in the central government departments, but against them there were only 30,99,556 employees. A total of 8,23,656 positions (about 21 per cent) are vacant.

Status of administrative institutions and ministries

This problem of vacant posts extends to the country's most important administrative and security institutions.

Top offices: The President's Secretariat has 287 (35.74%) vacancies out of a sanctioned strength of 803. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has 126 (28.57%) vacancies out of a sanctioned strength of 441.

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Defence and Railways: In the civilian wing of the Ministry of Defence, 242,243 (43.5%) of the 556,248 positions are vacant. In the Railways, 240,125 positions are vacant against a sanctioned strength of 1479,701. These two departments alone account for more than half (4.82 lakh) of the total vacant positions.

Home Ministry: Out of 11,18,233 sanctioned posts in the Home Ministry, which handles the internal security of the country, 1,10,885 posts are vacant.

Other major departments: 61,546 posts are vacant in the Postal Department and 69,662 (39%) posts are vacant in the Revenue Department.

Technical and agricultural sectors

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has 34 per cent (1,855) vacancies, while the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying has 58 per cent (1,378). The Ministry of Environment has 38 per cent vacancies, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment has over 41 per cent.

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In the Department of Atomic Energy, there are 10,234 vacant posts and 4,126 posts are vacant in the Department of Space (ISRO).

Thousands of positions remain unstaffed even in basic sectors like health and education. The Ministry of AYUSH and the Department of Health Research have more than half their sanctioned strength vacant.