The Indian Government has announced that 712 positions will be available for those taking the Union Public Service Commission (USPC) examination this year — down from 796 in 2020.
Despite a shortage of Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers across the country, the Government has been consistently reducing the number of people it recruits through the UPSC each year.
Since 2014, when the vacancies announced by the UPSC stood at 1,364, the posts advertised by the Commission have dropped by 47.8 per cent.
Sources in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said a major factor in deciding the number of recruitments and vacancies for any service was cadre management.
“While it may seem like there are widespread shortages in Government posts, most of these shortages are at entry level,” a DoPT official said.
“The Government has to keep in mind the career progression of the people it recruits, and keep room for promotions; that’s why there is a downward trend… it is part of the Government’s cadre management strategy,” they said.
However, while the UPSC is the most prestigious of the Government’s recruitment Agencies, other recruitment bodies like the Selection Staff Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Board and the Department of Posts have also taken fewer candidates since 2016-2017.
While the Indian Railways is the largest employer in the country, its recruitment for the Central Government dropped to just 3,873 in 2020-2021 from 27,427 in 2016-2017.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Railways, D.J. Narain said one year’s figure did not explain the full picture.
“Railways is constantly undertaking recruitment for various vacancies; last year was the most extraordinary year for the entire world, and Railways was no exception,” Mr Narain said.
“All advertised posts are being filled up in a phased manner,” he said.
New Delhi, 9 March 2021
