From the Promise of Two Crore Jobs Every Year, to Lakhs of Vacant Government Posts: What is the Employment Scenario in Today’s India

NARENDRA MODI HAD PROMISED to create two crore jobs every year during his election campaign in 2014. A decade later, an Right to Information (RTI) response has sought to refute this promise, showing that around 8.23 lakh sanctioned civilian posts under a number of Union government Ministries are lying vacant.

What is striking is that only two Ministries—Defence (civilian establishments) and Railways—account for more than 58% of the total vacancies.

The data is based on an RTI reply by the Pay Research Unit (PRU) of the Department of Expenditure, Union Ministry of Finance. As on March 1, 2024, of the 39,23,212 sanctioned civilian regular posts across 80 Central Ministries and departments, only 30,99,556 were filled, with around 8,23,556 posts lying vacant. 

See Also: Amnesty Decries ‘Blatant Attack’ on Right to Assembly Amid Crackdown on India Election Protests

The numbers indicate an alarming situation amid the rising numbers of educated unemployment in India. According to a NITI Aayog report published on August 18, the unemployment rate among India’s graduates is four times higher than the general mass. Only 8.25% of graduates or one in 12 graduates get jobs that are aligned to their academic qualifications. 

The RTI was filed by Chandra Shekhar Gaur—an RTI activist from Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh—and the response was received on August 19, 2026.

India’s Youth and Educated Unemployment in India

In contrast to the high-end promises by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of providing two crore jobs every year, the realities on the ground have spoken differently. Millions of educated youth in India are sitting idle with no source of earning or employment.

The India Employment Report 2024—published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Institute for Human Development—noted that around 83% of India’s unemployed are its youth. 

However, the issue is not only about the lack of opportunities. The report also notes that the number of youth in India who have acquired formal education has also risen—in contrast to the opportunities available for them to translate their academic investments into a fruitful career. 

A recent report by The Print highlighted the serious crisis surrounding the doctoral or PhD education in India. The number of PhD enrolments have increased three times since 2014-15. It was around 1.17 lakh in 2014-15, and reached 3.44 lakh in 2023-24, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education report (AISHE). Contrary to this, the post-PhD career pathways have remained bleak, and have not been able to offer the reliability that a doctoral degree ought to.

See Also: Indian Supreme Court Demands ‘Transparent’ Answers From Modi’s Government on Voter Purge

With the number of government posts remaining vacant, another trend has been the rise of contractualization of labour. 

Employment Crisis and Government Vacancies

If the instances of employment in the formal academic sector is taken into question, the rising vulnerability has left many young people in a serious crisis. University faculty recruitments are mostly for guest faculties, which offer Rs 1500 per lecture.

However, this is the story of Delhi university. State Universities across the country have irregular payments for guest lecturers, with the rate pegged at Rs 500 to Rs 1500 per lecture. 

In the RTI reply by the PRU, the highest number of vacancies are in the Defence Ministry. Around 2,41,643 posts are lying vacant of the 5,56,248 sanctioned posts. 

Following the Defence ministry is the Indian Railways. It has around 2,40,125 vacancies against the sanctioned strength of 14,79,701 posts.

The posts also lie vacant in other government departments such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, where 1,10,885 posts are yet to be filled against 11,18,233 vacancies; Department of Posts with 61,546 vacant positions against the sanctioned positions of 2,53,124. 

Suggested Reading: