Workforce strength in Central Government estimated to go up by 3.5 lakh, pay bills to rise by 13%
Civilian workforce strength in Central Government Ministries and Departments are estimated to see an addition of over 3.51 lakhs as on March 1, 2025. This also has an impact on pay bill (including allowances) as the amount has been revised upward by 13 per cent.
Budget documents showed that actual number of civilians working in Central Government was over 33 lakhs which is estimated to rise to around 36.58 lakhs as on March 1, 2025 and this is expected to see a mild rise to 36.97 lakhs as on March 1, 2026. Interestingly, Railway which has maximum on its payroll is likely to record a decline and its strength could come down from 12.37 lakhs as on March 1, 2024 to 12.15 lakhs on March 1, 2025, but could rise to 12.36 by March 1, 2026.
However, despite this rise in number in workforce, the estimated effective strength still appears to be lower than sanctioned strength. According to the Finance Ministry’s annual report on pay and allowances, total sanctioned strength of civilian employees in central government (including UT) was over 40 lakhs as of March 1, 2023, while total number was 30.62 lakhs, showing a vacancy of nearly 24 per cent.
Although the annual report did not mention any specific reason for the vacancies, but the delay in completing the recruitment process is believed to be an important factor. Posts are also not being filed in proportion to people getting retired, and many jobs are being outsourced to external agencies. However, the government says it has always endeavoured to fill the posts. It also highlighted that with over a dozen editions of Rozgar Melas, appointment letters are being issued to recruits joining the central government.
Meanwhile, budget document showed that salary bill (including travel allowances) revised to over ₹3.39 lakh crore as against ₹3 lakh crore, shows a rise of 13 per cent. For the next fiscal, it is expected to see a rise of over 6 per cent in the Budget Estimates to over ₹3.6 lakh crore. This means the impact of 8th pay commission has not been factored in pay bill. Recommendations of the pay commission is set to be implemented from January 1, 2026.
