Question : EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

(a) the present level of unemployment in different employable groups of persons;

(b) the steps being taken and the plan-programme of the Government to generate more employment;

(c) the present level of approximate quantum of employment opportunities in the Central Government services including Railways, Defence Services, Paramilitary Forces, etc.;

(d) whether the existing recruitment system ensures provision of Central Government employment opportunity to people of all regions;

(e) if so, whether any State/UT or group of States/UTs get disproportionate level of benefits; and

(f) if so, the details thereof and the remedial action contemplated particularly in the present context wherein employment has become a source of livelihood for people?

Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office. (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

(a): As per the labour force surveys on employment and unemployment conducted by National Sample Survey Office, the estimates of sector-wise growth of employment are available.

(b): For generating more employment in the country, Government has taken various steps like encouraging private sector of economy, fast tracking various projects involving substantial investment and increasing public expenditure on schemes like Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) run by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGA), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) scheme run by Ministry of Rural Development and National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) run by Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation.

Government has also decided to strategically promote labour-intensive manufacturing and expand employment opportunities by promoting tourism and agro-based industries. The National Manufacturing Policy of the Government targets to create 10 crore jobs by the year 2022. The 12th Five Year Plan projects 5 crore new work opportunities to be generated in the non-farm sector and provide skill certification to equivalent numbers.

(c): The posts sanctioned in Government Departments are required to be filled as and when vacancies arise. The position of sanctioned posts & vacancies in various Ministries/Departments as available in the Brochure on Pay and Allowances of Central Government Civilian Employees 2012-13 as on 1.3.2012, published by Pay Research Unit, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, is at annexure.

(d): Article 16 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination in matter relating to employment or appointment to an office under the State. It provides that no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of any employment of office under the State, except for the proviso under Clause (3) of the Article 16, which provides that ‘nothing in this article shall prevent Parliament from making any law prescribing, in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office under the Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union Territory, any requirement as to residence within that State or Union Territory prior to such employment or appointment.

Apart from the reservation permissible under Article 16(4) in favour of ‘backward classes of citizens’ no reservations are permissible except on the grounds of reasonable classification based on the criteria of efficient functioning and proper discharge of the duties of Government service.

(e) & (f): In view of (d) above, the question does not arise.