Mr Gadkari, check your facts. Huge govt vacancies exist in educational, health, railways, police and other sectors

By Gautam Thaker*
According to Union Labour Ministry statistics, the situation of unemployment in India is worrisome. As per its report, every day, 550 jobs are being eliminated. By tht count, 12 crore people have been being sacrificed at the altar of unemployment.
And, as per International Labour Organization (ILO) data, during 2017, about 1.83 crore people were rendered jobless. Thereafter, in 2018, approximately 1.86 crore and in 2019 another 1.9 crore people are estimated to be rendered jobless in India.
In the course of the election campaign in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered, through lofty promises, lots of hopes for providing employment opportunities. He had asserted that every year one crore new jobs would be created, but he could not do so after becoming Prime Minister. He failed in honouring his promise to the youth of the country.
In fact, under his regime, unemployment is continuing to rise. In the wake of demonetization and Goods and Services Tax (GST), lakhs of people have been rendered jobless. Clearly, during his regime the problem of unemployment has not been resolved.
Nitin Gadkari, senior Cabinet minister of the Modi government, recently said, nothing would be achieved by chasing reservation. As a matter of fact, employment opportunities are declining. Where are the jobs? he asked. In further said, recruitment in government jobs has been discontinued.
Jobs cannot be created merely by tall talk of development and industrialization. In the banking sector, because of IT-enabled working systems, job opportunities have been reduced. Ironically, another Cabinet minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, says that statistics of unemployment are a cause of concern. This is the real picture of the Modi government. The Prime Minister is simply incapable in creating job opportunities.
Ministers of the Modi government have admitted that there are no jobs. But facts show otherwise. In the educational sector up to the secondary level 10 lakh vacancies exist. In higher education 12,000 are there. In police 5 lakh, in Railways 2 lakh, in health sector 1.5 lakh, in armed forces 1.25 lakh, and in judiciary 6,000 of posts are lying vacant. But the government has not pronounced reasons for not filling up the posts.
Looking at the situation prevailing in Gujarat, as per records available from district employment exchanges, highly educated, educated and semi-skilled persons have not been able to secure jobs in either government or private sector. As per the information tabled in Parliament during the assembly session in March 2018, the tall talk of providing government jobs to 70,000 persons in a year has not turned out to be a reality. During two years, just 12,869 persons have got jobs.
As on date, considering figures of all the employment exchanges in all the districts of Gujarat, approximately 5,37,563 persons are registered as jobless. Claims were made at the Vibrant Gujarat world business summits, organized by spending crores of rupees, for creating lakhs of jobs with the help of capital investment.

During the summits, it was announced in 2007 that 13,12,436 jobs would be created, followed by 2009 another 29,81,021 and 2011 an additional 60,00,000 jobs. As against this, 55,463 jobs were created after the Vibrant Gujarat summit of 2007, and 3,84,954 jobs after the summit of 2009.

This is the position of employment situation in the “model state” of Gujarat. Ironically, even 100 days employment is not provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Gujarat.
---
*General secretary, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Gujarat

Comments

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Farewell to Saleem Samad: A life devoted to fearless journalism

By Nava Thakuria* Heartbreaking news arrived from Dhaka as the vibrant city lost one of its most active and committed citizens with the passing of journalist, author and progressive Bangladeshi national Saleem Samad. A gentleman who always had issues to discuss with anyone, anywhere and at any time, he passed away on 22 February 2026 while undergoing cancer treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was 74.

From ancient wisdom to modern nationhood: The Indian story

By Syed Osman Sher South of the Himalayas lies a triangular stretch of land, spreading about 2,000 miles in each direction—a world of rare magic. It has fired the imagination of wanderers, settlers, raiders, traders, conquerors, and colonizers. They entered this country bringing with them new ethnicities, cultures, customs, religions, and languages.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov, the artist who survived Stalin's cultural purges

By Harsh Thakor* Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov (September 14, 1885 – April 20, 1964) was a Soviet artist, professor, academician, and teacher. His work was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize, the highest artistic honour of the USSR. His paintings traced the development of socialist realism in the visual arts while retaining qualities drawn from impressionism. Gerasimov reconciled a lyrical approach to nature with the demands of Soviet socialist ideology.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan* The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

Development at what cost? The budget's blind spot for the environment

By Raj Kumar Sinha* The historical ills in the relationship between capital and the environment have now manifested in areas commonly referred to as the "environmental crisis." This includes global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer, the devastation of tropical forests, mass mortality of fish, species extinction, loss of biodiversity, poison seeping into the atmosphere and food, desertification, shrinking water supplies, lack of clean water, and radioactive pollution.

Development vs community: New coal politics and old conflicts in Madhya Pradesh

By Deepmala Patel* The Singrauli region of Madhya Pradesh, often described as “India’s energy capital,” has for decades been a hub of coal mining and thermal power generation. Today, the Dhirouli coal mine project in this district has triggered widespread protests among local communities. In recent years, the project has generated intense controversy, public opposition, and significant legal and social questions. This is not merely a dispute over one mine; it raises a larger question—who pays the price for energy development? Large corporate beneficiaries or the survival of local communities?

Search This Blog