Govt: No restrictions on filling vacancies

NEW DELHI: The Union government clarified on Saturday that there is no restriction on recruitment of people for filling vacancies in government jobs, a day after the department of expenditure (DOE) issued an order asking all government departments and autonomous bodies to cut administrative expenses, including halting appointment of consultants and creating new posts.

“Normal recruitments through government agencies like Staff Selection Commission, UPSC, Railway Recruitment Board, etc will continue as usual without any curbs,” the ministry of finance said in an official statement on Saturday.

While referring to a circular released on Friday, the ministry said it only deals with “internal procedure for creation of posts”.

“The Dept. of Expenditure circular dated 04 Sept 2020 deals with internal procedure for creation of posts and does NOT in anyway affect or curtail recruitment,” the ministry further said.

Friday’s circular was seen as a move towards an austerity drive, with departments being urged to also curtail functions and ban use of imported paper for printing as part of measures to rationalise non-priority expenditure at a time when revenues have plummeted due to the pandemic and shutdowns.

“In the context of the present fiscal situation and the consequent pressure on Government resources, there is a need for further economy and rationalisation of non-priority expenditure, while protecting and preserving priority expenditure,” the department said in an office memorandum.