The order on government officials’ participation in RSS activities was released on July 9 by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which handles matters pertaining to union government personnel. The DoPT stated that instructions from 1966, 1970, and 1980 on the subject “have been reviewed and it has been decided to remove the mention of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)” from the “impugned Official Memorandums.” It is crucial to highlight that while the DoPT was formerly under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs till 1998, it now serves as a Cabinet Ministry directly under PM Narendra Modi.

The notice is as follows:

The decision came after some disguised attacks were reportedly made by Mohan Bhagwat, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s sarsanghchalak, or chief, against PM Modi. Bhagwat, in a few speeches since the conclusion of the Lok Sabha election 2024 has remarked on the “a lack of decorum” during the election campaign, and hinted at the glaring failure of the Union government to contain the continuing conflict in Manipur. More recently, on July 18, Bhagwat reportedly took another dig at PM Modi’s remarks that he was non-biological and convinced that he was sent by God. Video emerged of Bhagwat delivering a speech at a village-level workers’ meeting organised by Vikas Bharti Gumla, Jharkhand showed Bhagwat saying that “men aim to become “superman,” then “devta,” (God) “bhagwan,” (deity) and even aspire for “vishwaroop” (omnipresent). He said that people should strive for the welfare of humanity, as the pursuit of development is endless”.

A report of the Indian Express stated that the move to lift the ban by the BJP was made in response to the recent strains in the party’s relationship with the RSS and was interpreted as the party’s “positive gesture” to “call a truce” with its ideological parent. According to the IE article, the sources also stated that the BJP was assured that the Sangh’s leaders would not publicly criticise it or its leadership.

The three circulars in contention:

It was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who had banned the RSS. In their resolution of February 2, 1948, following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, the Government of India had declared their determination to root out the forces of hate and violence that are at work in our country and imperil the freedom of the Nation and darken her fair name. In pursuance of this policy, the Government of India had decided to declare unlawful the RSS in the Chief Commissioner’s Provinces. Similar action was also taken in the Governor’s Provinces. (Details of the notice issued from archives of the Home Ministry, Government of India, can be accessed here.) Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on the assurances given by the RSS of its good behaviour, though it never flew the national tricolour at its headquarters in Nagpur.

• November 30,1966 Circular: Issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it prohibited government servants from participating in RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami activities, citing Rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964.

The document of 1966 had stated: “As certain doubts have been raised about the government’s policy with respect to the membership of and participation in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh and the Jamaat-e-Islami by government servants, it is clarified that government have always held the activities of these two organisations to be of such a nature that participation in them by government servants would attract the Central Civil Services Conduct Rules. Any government servant, who is a member of or is otherwise associated with the aforesaid organisations or with their activities is liable to disciplinary action”.

• July 25, 1970 Circular: Reiterated the 1966 directive and stressed disciplinary action against violators.
• October 28,1980 Circular: Emphasized the need for secularism among government servants and reiterated previous orders against communal organizations.

Rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 prohibits government servants from associating with political parties or organizations involved in politics. In addition to this, similar to the 1964 Rules, All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 is applicable to Indian Administrative Services, Indian Police Services, and Indian Forest Service officers, and law the aforementioned prohibitions.

The original 1966 circular can be viewed as follows:

In year 2000, unsurprisingly, it was the Keshubhai Patel-led Gujarat government that had lifted the ban on public/government servants who belonged to the RSS. In September 2006, when the then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan had first claimed power in the state of Madhya Pradesh, he had lifted the restriction on state government employee’s participation in RSS by stating that the RSS is a “socio-cultural organisation and not a political entity”. Justifying the decision, Chouhan had said, “The ban was imposed out of prejudice.

In 2021, the Haryana government had lifted a decades-old order that banned the state’s government employees from taking part in any RSS activities. The state’s then Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was a proud veteran RSS pracharak. His government has withdrawn the orders, issued in 1967 and 1980, which restricted government employees from participating in the activities of RSS.

The implications of the notice:

Through the order issued by the union government implies that the RSS is not considered a political organization, allowing central government employees to participate in its activities without violating conduct rules. However, the Jamaat-e-Islami will remain to be classified as a political organization. In the case of the employees of the state government, they have their own conduct rules, and their stance on RSS participation varies.

One should be aware that the wider implications of this new order, which blurs the lines of professional conduct and socio-political affiliations, even if RSS claims it is not a political body.  The professed aims and objects of the RSS are to promote the physical, intellectual and moral well–being of the “Hindus” and also to foster feelings of brotherhood, love and service amongst them. It is no secret anymore that undesirable and even dangerous activities have been carried on by members of the Sangh. It has been found that in several parts of the country individual members of RSS have indulged in acts of violence involving arson, robbery, dacoity, and murder and have collected illicit arms and ammunition. Under the guise of awakening the “Hindus” of India, attempts are being made to turn India into a country for the Hindu nation, with certain religious communities and ideological inclinations being deemed as “anti-Hindu”.

In the recent times, more and more public functionaries have been vocal in their appreciation for the RSS, as well as their association with the said organisation. In May 2024, the retiring Calcutta High Court judge Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash had stated the RSS had helped him shape his personality and instil courage and patriotism in him. Dash had further said that he had been associated with the RSS since his childhood. During his retirement speech, Dash had said “I must admit here that I was and I am a member of the RSS,” according to Bar and Bench. Notably, in October of 2023, Dash had come under criticism for his judgment that had issued a code of conduct for adolescent girls to “control their sexual urges” so that they are not deemed a “loser” by society. The Supreme Court had taken suo-moto cognizance of the said judgment, and come down heavily on it by holding that “writing such judgments is absolutely wrong”.

Prior to this, in 2023, while Justice Lakshmana Victoria Gowri was sworn in as an additional judge of the Madras High Court, her association with RSS in her formative years and later with BJP had come to the forefront. Her past speeches, especially against Christian missionaries, and ties with the BJP and RSS had come to haunt Gowri with a group of senior lawyers writing to the Collegium against her appointment and approaching the Courts as well to oppose her elevation. However, she was sworn in as an additional judge.

After winning the election to become the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president in May 2024, Kapil Sibal had also pointed to the potential erosion of judicial independence and integrity by highlighting that the judiciary today “Have judges who after retirement say they were part of RSS and want to go back to it”.

Determining political nature or association of an individual with the RSS was already challenging due to its informal membership system, but now that the ban on participating in the activities of the RSS has been lifted, we can predict a further denigration of the ethos and values promoted by the Indian Constitution. In addition to this, the move of the union government will have potentially deleterious repercussions, as not only will government officials be permitted to join the RSS, but also all will view RSS membership as sure qualification for getting promotions and prize postings.

Reaction to the move; some welcome it, majority condemn

As expected, the lifting of the ban was welcomed by the members of BJP and the RSS, with the Sangh affirming that it is an “appropriate decision”. BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya also shared a screenshot of the July 9 order and said that an “unconstitutional” directive issued 58 years ago has been withdrawn by the Narendra Modi government. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Amit Malviya wrote, “The unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago, in 1966, imposing a ban on government employees taking part in the activities of the RSS has been withdrawn by the Modi government. The original order shouldn’t have been passed in the first place.”

The unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago, in 1966, imposing a ban on Govt employees taking part in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been withdrawn by the Modi Govt. The original order shouldn’t have been passed in the first place.

The ban was imposed… pic.twitter.com/Gz0Yfmftrp

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 22, 2024

BJP leader and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, as has become the norm, pointed fingers at the Congress party for bringing in the ban, claiming that the 1966 ban was driven by political reasons. “The Congress has always had a negative mindset for nationalist organisations and such thinking has no place in the country,” he said.

On the other hand, Congress MP and senior leader KC Venugopal called the Ministry of Personnel’s order a “very unfortunate move,” saying the BJP-led central government is not learning any lesson from the people’s verdict while referring to the fall of the BJP party’s seats from 303 to 240 in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Targeting the government, Kharge commented in a post on X: “This will be a challenge to the sense of neutrality of public servants in government offices and the supremacy of the Constitution. The government is probably taking these steps because the people defeated its nefarious intent to change the Constitution.”

Kharge said the Modi government continues its efforts to take control over constitutional bodies and work its way in through the backdoor and tamper with the Constitution. This is also a violation of the apology and assurance given by RSS to Sardar Patel in which they had promised that RSS would work as a social organisation without any political agenda, in accordance with the Constitution of India. The Opposition will continue its efforts to protect the Constitution and the democracy, Kharge said in his social media post.

On this day in 1947, India adopted its National Flag.
RSS opposed the Tricolour, and Sardar Patel had warned them against it.

Sardar Patel had also banned RSS after Gandhi ji’s assassination on February 4, 1948.

Modi ji has lifted a 1966 ban on Government Servants attending RSS…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 22, 2024

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh came down heavily on the Union government, claiming that the ban, which was upheld even during former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, was lifted on July 9. Remembering Sardar Patel, who banned RSS in February 1948, the Congress leader said that “the ban on assurances of good behaviour was subsequently withdrawn. Even after this, the RSS never flew the Tiranga in Nagpur. In 1966, a ban was imposed – and rightly so – on government employees taking part in RSS activities,” he said.

Ramesh further remarked that with the said move, the bureaucrats could now come to their office in knickers. He also commented that the decision was taken after June 4, 2024, when the relations between the “self-anointed non-biological PM” and the RSS have nosedived following the declaration of the Lok Sabha election results.

“…relations between the self-anointed non-biological PM and the RSS have nosedived. On July 9, 2024, the 58-year ban that was in force even during Mr. Vajpayee’s tenure as PM was removed. The bureaucracy can now come in knickers too, I suppose,” he added.

The initial order from 1966 that banned Government servants from participating in RSS activities used both the Gregorian calendar and the Saka calendar. The new order allowing them to do so uses only the Gregorian calendar. So much for self-proclaimed Bharatiyata and the… https://t.co/ti9dCbx2uV pic.twitter.com/hB9unjJ2h1

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 22, 2024

Sardar Patel had banned the RSS in February 1948 following Gandhiji’s assassination.

Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour. Even after this the RSS never flew the Tiranga in Nagpur.

In 1966, a ban was imposed – and rightly so – on government… pic.twitter.com/Lmq7yaybR4

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 21, 2024

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised the government for lifting the ban on government employees participating in RSS activities. “…if true, this is against India’s integrity and unity. The ban on RSS exists because it refused to accept the constitution, the national flag and the national anthem. The ban on RSS exists because it had originally refused to accept the constitution, the national flag & the national anthem. Every RSS member takes an oath that puts Hindutva above the nation. No civil servant can be loyal to the nation if he is a member of RSS.”

This office memo purportedly shows that the govt has lifted the ban on govt employees participating in RSS activities. If true, this is against India’s integrity and unity. The ban on RSS exists because it had originally refused to accept the constitution, the national flag & the… pic.twitter.com/J7yUL7Ckvl

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) July 22, 2024

Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati demanded that the government withdraw the order and said the Centre’s decision was politically motivated and aimed at appeasing the RSS to alleviate the “bitterness that has intensified between the two after the Lok Sabha elections over government policies and their arrogant attitudes”. She said the order was “beyond the national interest”.

1. सरकारी कर्मचारियों को आरएसएस की शाखाओं में जाने पर 58 वर्ष से जारी प्रतिबंध को हटाने का केन्द्र का निर्णय देशहित से परे, राजनीति से प्रेरित संघ तुष्टीकरण का निर्णय, ताकि सरकारी नीतियों व इनके अहंकारी रवैयों आदि को लेकर लोकसभा चुनाव के बाद दोनों के बीच तीव्र हुई तल्खी दूर हो।

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) July 22, 2024

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The post Behind the BJP’s move to lift the 58-year-old ban on the participation of central government officials in RSS activities appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In wake of a spate of killings of Hindus in Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandit migrant employees under the PM’s job scheme have now begun to move out of the Valley. Sources on the ground have said that while the first few groups have already begun to move out on Thursday, other groups, including those who were sitting in protest in Sheikhpora, have begun to pack their belongings and are likely to leave by this evening.

This mass migration of the Pandit community comes after they said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government has failed to relocate them to safer places outside the Valley. They had given a 24 hours notice to the government to move them to a safer place. 

“Tents will be packed up today and residents of the colony will start moving towards Jammu,” said a source from the Valley. This was soon confirmed by the afternoon’s news breaks.

migration of Kashmiri pandits started from valley pic.twitter.com/UduyRv3UCT

— KPSS (@KPSSamiti) June 2, 2022

#STILL TOURISTS ARE ENJOYING KASHMIR ON THE BLOOD OF COMMON KASHMIRI. AND GOI CLAIMS THAT THEY BROUGHT KASHMIRI ON KNEES AND PAKISTAN ON BACK FOOT pic.twitter.com/JVL79PRQZd

— KPSS (@KPSSamiti) June 2, 2022

The angry Kashmiri Pandits posted in the Valley had warned the government that they would undertake a mass-migration and had set up a 24-hour deadline for their transfer out of Kashmir. This was their final warning after the targeted terror killing of Rajni Bala (36) a Hindu teacher at a South Kashmir school. She was shot dead at the morning assembly of the schools, and the murder was witnessed by students. It was Bala’s last day at the school, as she had been “transferred to a relatively safer area in the face of increased attacks on migrants.”

On Thursday, Bank Manager Vijay Kumar who hailed from Rajasthan was shot at by suspected militants, succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Kumar worked at  Ellaqie Dehati Bank at Areh Mohanpora in Kulgam district. He received grievous gunshot injuries and later succumbed. 

#KulgamTerrorIncidentUpdate: #Injured bank employee namely Vijay Kumar #succumbed to his injuries at hospital. #Search in the area going on. Further details shall follow.@JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/gt9lhrrFEC

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) June 2, 2022

This was perhaps the last straw for the terrified community. On Thursday, many Kashmiri Hindus were seen sending additional security vehicles back, refusing to be confined further in the employees camps in the Valley. Some can be heard telling the security officers “it was too late”, that the people do not want to be locked in, and just want to save their lives. According to a report in the New Indian Express, the administration “sought to take the middle road by shifting them to secure locations at district/tehsil headquarters within the Valley itself.” 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1612742582438785&id=1277987180&sfnsn=wiwspwa

According to a report in Frontline, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of its special status in August 2019, had said that the slew of government measures would uplift the lives of Jammu and Kashmir’s young people. But today, the Kashmiri Pandit community of the Valley seems to have lost all hope. They are openly blaming the Narendra Modi government for targeted attacks. The community has been raising slogans against the BJP government, and that anger has intensified in the recent past. According to the Frontline report, from the heavily fortified Vessu camp in Anantnag, where entry is barred to all outsiders, including mediapersons, a resident said, “Something changed with the abrogation of Article 370”.

Sanjay Tikoo, president of the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, has been among the few who has openly said that the vilification of Muslims, had added to the vulnerability of the Kashmiri Pandits in the valley 

However, according to the report, “The BJP is confident that Kashmiri Pandits do not doubt its fidelity to their cause.”  It quoted BJP’s spokesperson Rahul Sharma, saying “Some of them are upset, but the feeling is temporary. The Pandits look to us with hope, they know it is only the BJP that has the political will to uproot terrorism in all its forms.”  

It was reported that the estimated 6,000 Hindu beneficiaries of the PM’s job scheme posted in the Valley as well as Jammu-based minority employees posted in militancy-hit Kashmir “will get fresh posting orders”  by Monday, June 6. on Wednesday J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha reportedly chaired a high level security meeting to discuss the targeted killings of last month. These seven victims included a Kashmiri Pandit, and a Hindu teacher as well as three Muslim policemen. 

It has been speculated that elections may soon be held in the Union Territory, and for the BJP many of the Kashmiri Pandit and Hindu government job beneficiaries are also an important vote bank. However after they are posted in vulnerable areas of the Kashmir valley and have repeatedly said they are prone to terror atatcks. According to news reports most of these employees are posted in distant districts and tehsil headquarters.    

The TNIE reported that the government had also claimed that the “security apparatus around all transit accommodations for migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees in the Valley will be beefed up and additional security personnel deployed in these areas for day and night patrolling.” The General Administration Department also set up a dedicated cell to resolve grievances of employees of minority communities in Kashmir, stated the report, the complaints were to be registered on “jk.minoritycell@gmail.com or call 0194-2506111 and 0194-2506112 from 10 am to 5.30 pm,” an administration spokesman told the media.

However, the attack on the bank manager followed. According to news reports, for the second time in “less than a fortnight” Union home minister Amit Shah called for a meeting on Friday to discuss security in J&K.

These frequent killings, especially those of migrant employees in the Valley, is a blot on the Centre’s rehabilitation policy. Members of the Pandit community have consistently put the blame at the door of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government accusing them of politically exploiting the community but not doing enough to ensure their security on the ground.

The Kashmiri Pandit Sangarsh Samiti had expressed concerns about the increase of targeted attacks in the Valley.

It endrose kpss earlier tweet pic.twitter.com/kx2Uo2IudU

— KPSS (@KPSSamiti) May 31, 2022

First and foremost question is where from the terrorist get Guns. There is no Pakistani import angle as honrable prime minister shri Modi ji claims all borders are secure.

— KPSS (@KPSSamiti) May 31, 2022

Rajni Bala’s killing came soon after to the killing of Kashmir TV artiste Amreen Bhat (35), and her 10-year-old nephew was also injured after terrorists shot at him and his aunt in the Chadoora area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district. Before this protesters were already on the streets following the killing of Rahul Bhat by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district on May 12. Bhat’s wife, Meenakshi Raina, had said his death had been ignored by the BJP government, and soon after that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the family in Jammu to extend his condolences and assurances.

So far 5,928 of the 6,000 posts set aside for Pandit migrants in Kashmir under the rehabilitation package have been filled. According to a Telegraph report “no more than 1,037 of them have been given secure accommodation or allowed to stay in transit camps while the rest live in rented quarters outside the secure zones.” 

Related:

Kashmir: School teacher Rajni Bala gunned down by terrorists in front of students during morning assembly
Kashmiri TV artiste Amreen Bhat killed in cold blood
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Kashmiri Pandits stage protest in Valley, face tear gas, seek justice for Rahul Bhat

The post Who is to blame for this exodus of Kashmiri Pandit gov’t employees? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Haryana government has now lifted a decades-old order that banned the state’s government employees from taking part in any Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities. The state’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, is a proud veteran RSS pracharak. His government has withdrawn the orders, issued in 1967 and 1980, which restricted government employees from participating in the activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

According to media reports, the ban was lifted on Monday and the order issued stated: “With the coming into effect of the Haryana Civil Services (Government Employees’ Conduct) Rules, 2016, government instructions…dated 2.4.1980 and…dated 11.1.1967 are hereby withdrawn with immediate effect as they are no longer relevant.” This order was issued by the state’s general administration department. 

The order that prompted strong political reactions, also allowed Haryana government employees to join Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI). According to the Indian Express, Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan issued the instructions that “the earlier issued letters in 1967, 1970 and 1980 are hereby withdrawn with immediate effect as they are no longer relevant”.

Media reports recalled that in January 1967, the political and services branch of, the then chief secretary’s office had stated that the government “held the activities of organisations such as the RSS and the Jamaat-e-Islami to be of such a nature that participation in them by the government employees would attract disciplinary action under service rules.” Haryana government had then issued an instruction “that participation in RSS activities by government employees would invite action under the service rules.” Then in  April 1980, instructions were issued by the then general administration department of Haryana’s chief secretary’s office restraining “state government employees from any association with RSS activities. The two orders are now dust. 

अब हरियाणा के कर्मचारीयों को “संघ” की शाखाओं में भाग लेने की छूट ।

सरकार चला रहे हैं या भाजपा-RSS की पाठशाला! pic.twitter.com/2SNpHXj0wR

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) October 11, 2021

Will Haryana be the next Hindutva hotbed?

The wider implications of this new order, which blurs the lines of professional conduct and socio-political affiliations, even if RSS claims it is not a political body. Recently Haryana has had a spate of communal incidents, often it is the Muslim community that has been harrased or threatend for various reasons. Vigilante groups have also voiced anti-Muslim sentiments at various Mahapanchayats or community meetings held across the state. Many of these have given calls for violence against the minority communities, and offer stages from which known communal faces make hate speeches.

An example was a call for violence given by the man better known as the ‘Jamia shooter’. Well known rabble rouser Suraj Pal Amu of Karni Sena, now a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman in Haryana is famous for asking Haryana residents to  ensure that “no Taimur, Aurangzeb, Babur and Humayun are born” and “we will not give houses here on rent to the Pakistanis… Remove them from this country…” 

Then there are public communal acts such as once by a group of people, identified as residents of Gurugram, objecting to namaz being allowed in an open public space have become frequent. They alleged that “namaz” in the approved open plots spoils law and order, when the police try to inverne and diffuse the tension. They start chanting “Bharat Mata ki jai” which has unfortunately been turned into an aggressive war cry by right-wing groups. 

As recently as October 13, according to social media alerts hundreds of members of the Hindutva groups Durga Vahini gathered in Haryana’s Indri area, where calls to purportedly unleash communal violence were being broadcast. In the audience were young children.

On 13th October, hundreds of members of the Durga Vahini and children as young as 5 gathered in Haryana’s Indri for “Shastra Poojan”. Listen to the chilling message being delivered to these small children. They’re exhorting children to committ targetted kilIi’ngs of the “enemy.” pic.twitter.com/5UVZZXZyMv

— Alishan Jafri (@alishan_jafri) October 13, 2021

This is illegal assembly of people with weapons in the name of “Shastra-Poojan”. Video is from Bajrang Dal, Jind. To fight against what and whom are they picking up weapons?@police_haryana, please take action. pic.twitter.com/bsXRy1ZHVP

— Kaushik Raj (@kaushikrj6) October 11, 2021

This is crucial to note, because such permissions, and complaints against such permissions both land up at the government offices, which may now have RSS members on the job. 

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The post Haryana lifts decades old ban, allows gov’t employees to join RSS, Jamaat-e-Islami appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
“A poor country with weak state capacity like India, when confronted with the pressure to redistribute, had necessarily to redistribute inefficiently, using blunt and leaky instruments,” said the Economic Survey of 2016-17. State capacity refers to the government’s ability to utilise resources to deliver essential services, such as education and health.
 
Concerns regarding the quality of government services being affected due to understaffing were raised in the 2015 report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission, the committee to review and revise central government employee pay packages. For every 100,000 people, India had 139 central government employees, compared to the US, which had 668, the report said.
 
Understaffing is frequently manifest in protests and inefficiency.
 
Overworked doctors at the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital demanded an increase in staff to extend out-patient department (OPD) hours, the Hindu reported on July 14, 2018. Similarly, the quality of teaching and research in central universities was affected because a third of teaching posts were vacant, IndiaSpend reported on August 16, 2018.
 
The central government has spent Rs 11 lakh crore ($160 billion), nearly twice Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017 ($87 billion), on 3.2 million employees in 10 years to 2016-17; the expense rose 340%, from Rs 41,676 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 182,513 crore in 2016-17.
 

 
There were, on average, 500,000 vacancies in central government jobs over 10 years.
 
In 2006, of 3.5 million sanctioned posts, only 88% or 3.1 million positions were filled, a gap of 417,495 employees, the data show. In 2016, 89% or 3.2 million of 3.6 million were filled, a vacancy of around 412,752 employees.

 
 
Most vacancies were in group C (clerks and office aides) jobs, the data show. Of 3.2 million sanctioned posts in group C in 2016-17, 87% or 2.8 million were filled.
 
Vacancies of around 300,000-320,000 posts in group C alone are about three times the employees added (111,909) over 10 years.
 
Increase in employee pay scale, increase in expenditure
 
“To keep the salary structure of the employees viable, it has become necessary to improve the pay structure of their employees so that better, more competent and talented people could be attracted for governance,” said the report of the Seventh Central Pay Commission, which said government-employee salaries should be competitive with the private sector.
 
The expenditure on base pay increased 331%, from Rs 27,834 crore to Rs 120,002 crore, over a decade to 2017. Employees received 157% more in-hand cash, after the Seventh Central Pay Commission report and the hike in minimum wages (Rs 7,000 to Rs 18,000).
 
Dearness allowance (DA)–additional compensation to cover cost-of-living increases–accounted for a larger share of the pay structure (42%) than basic pay (36%) between 2011-12 and 2015-16. The trend changed in 2016-17, after the revisions recommended by the Seventh Central Pay Commission.
 
In 2016-17, basic salary formed 66% of central-government salaries, followed by DA (16%). House rent and other allowances made up the remaining 4% and 14%, respectively, according to the report on Pay and Allowance 2016-17.
 

Source: Final report of the 7th Pay Commission 2015; Annual Report on Pay and Allowances of Central Government Civilian Employees 2016-2017*
 
The department of science and technology, which funds research and development of science and technology associated with water, energy, health, environment, climate, agriculture and food, is running at less than half its capacity, from 37% vacancy in 2014 to 55% posts vacant in 2016.
 
Up to 49% posts are vacant in the civil aviation ministry, followed by the corporate affairs ministry with 44%.
 
The defence ministry had the most vacancies in 2016 with 187,054 posts (31%).
 
Overall, there appears to be a shortage of 25%-35% staff, on average, across 51 ministries, the data show.
 
To fill some vacancies, the central government is planning to employ professionals in senior management posts, such as joint secretaries, on contract across 10 areas.
 
Although there are no data on the number of contract employees, according to this November 2016 reply to the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) by labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya, the central government was a major employer of contract workers, according to data released by the Seventh Central Pay Commission. The Centre spent over Rs 300 crore on contractual manpower in 2012-13.
 
As many as 43% of government employees held temporary jobs, according to the 2014 report by the Indian Staffing Federation, an organisation that covers regulations related to outsourcing of skills.
 
(Chhetri, a graduate of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, is an intern with IndiaSpend.)
 
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