NEW DELHI, Dec 19: The Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday that the representation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) within the central government workforce aligns with the established quotas.
As of January 1, 2024, the Union Minister of State for Personnel, Jitendra Singh, reported in a written reply that there are 5.47 lakh employees from SCs, 2.82 lakh from STs, and 8.55 lakh from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) based on data collected from various ministries/departments.
Singh stated, “The representation for SCs and STs conforms to the prescribed limits of 15% and 7.5% respectively. Furthermore, the representation of OBCs through direct recruitment has consistently exceeded 27% over the past decade.”
In response to a question regarding the omission of reservation data for Union government jobs from the Annual Report (2023-24) of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Singh explained that compiling data from ministries and departments is a lengthy process.
“At the time the Annual Report was finalized, the relevant data received from various ministries and departments was incomplete and needed reconciliation. Consequently, it could not be included in the DoPT’s Annual Report (2023-24). However, the data has now been reconciled,” he clarified.
Addressing a question regarding the overall number of sanctioned positions and vacancies in the central government, he stated that the occurrence and filling of vacancies is an ongoing endeavor.
“Details of vacancies are maintained by the respective ministries and departments. The ministries and departments have been instructed periodically to ensure that vacant positions are filled in a timely manner,” Singh noted.
He added that vacant positions have been addressed through the ‘Rozgar Mela,’ which was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 22, 2022.
“To date, 13 Rozgar Melas have been conducted at the central level across 45-50 cities in various states and Union Territories, with several lakh appointment letters distributed during these events,” the minister concluded. (AGENCIES)
