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More than 8.23 lakh sanctioned civilian posts are lying vacant in several Union government Ministries, as per official data shared in a Right to Information (RTI) response, with just two Ministries — Defence (civilian establishments) and Railways — making for more than 58% of the total vacancies.
As per an RTI reply by the Pay Research Unit (PRU) under the Union Finance Ministry’s Department of Expenditure, the estimated sanctioned strength of civilian regular posts in 80 Central Ministries and departments is 39,23,212, while only 30,99,556 posts were filled as on March 1, 2024, with 8,23,556 positions lying vacant.
The application had been filed by Chandra Shekhar Gaur, an RTI activist based in Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch, and the response was shared on August 19, 2026 with latest available data on the group-wise and status-wise estimated number of Central government civilian regular employees.
Highest in Defence Ministry
As per the Pay Research Unit, the highest number of vacancies are in the Ministry of Defence’s civilian positions, with 2,41,643 lying vacant against the sanctioned strength of 5,56,248.
This is followed by the Indian Railways with 12,39,576 posts filled against the sanctioned strength of 14,79,701, leaving 2,40,125 vacancies, and the Ministry of Home Affairs where 1,10,885 posts are vacant against the sanctioned strength of 11,18,233. The Department of Posts also has 61,546 vacant positions against its sanctioned strength of 2,53,124.
Various other departments like Animal Husbandry and Dairying; Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change; and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare also have around 57.5%, 38% and 34% posts, respectively, lying vacant as of March 2024.
The data surfaces at a time when several youth-led protests have been witnessed across the country, including the Gen Z protest in New Delhi last month, over issues ranging from unemployment to irregularities in government exams.
‘Shocking figures’
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Gaur termed the figures “shocking” given the rising unemployment among the youth.
He pointed out that the President’s Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also have 35.7% and 28.5% vacant positions against their sanctioned numbers of 803 and 441, respectively.
“These figures are concerning amidst rising unemployment. Government jobs are the right of our capable youth. The government should initiate the process of filling these vacant posts in ‘mission mode’ as a top priority. This would provide employment to the youth and also enhance departmental efficiency,” Mr. Gaur said, while advocating for a more proactive approach towards filling vacant government posts.
He also said that the data does not include various Central public sector undertakings (PSUs) and banks.
The civilian roles in Defence departments do not include the personnel in various armed forces and research wings like the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Published – August 24, 2026 04:58 pm IST