The dream of a “sarkari naukri” holds a powerful draw in India. Every year, crores of people apply for a far fewer number of job vacancies in the central and state governments.Behind this appeal — among youth, technocrats, and even those in professions such as medical and engineering — are economic realities such as the lack of private jobs, social psychology and career benefits that private-sector employment can rarely match. The lack of systemic support for entrepreneurship also makes government jobs a secure haven. The recent protests over paper leaks and government exams, especially in Jharkhand, are a reflection of this appeal.But how does government recruitment work? How many people can it employ? How many government jobs are there ? Here’s a deep dive.What is the size of the government workforce?Besides technocrats and government staff such as doctors, the government workforce is primarily divided into three groups (Group A, B and C). There was earlier a Group D category (peons) as well, but it has been merged with Group C.Retirement is a regular process, and so is the creation of new posts and the filling up of existing ones.According to data from the Department of Expenditure’s website, the total number of employees in the Union government — including Union Territories and missions abroad — as on March 1, 2023 was 30.62 lakh, against a sanctioned strength of more than 40 lakh. This is just the number of permanent employees — contractual employees and consultants are not included in this figure.Udit Misra explains | The other ‘NEET’ that India’s policymakers need to addressThe Union government spent Rs 2.95 lakh crore on the salary of these employees in 2023-24. More than 80% of this figure went towards defence, railways, postal services and home affairs.Story continues below this adWhile there is no accurate figure of all government employees of centre and states, it is estimated that this number is more than 1.5 crore — including the civil administration, armed forces, police, healthcare workers, teachers and others.Let us look at the recruitment process in the central government first.How does central government recruitment happen?Central government recruitments are carried out by agencies such as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Ministry of Defence (including the Army, Navy and Air Force), the Ministry of Railways, public sector undertakings and universities, among others. Every year, several crore people attempt to enter the central government service through one of these routes. Only around 1.20 lakh make it each year. How central government recruitment happensWho frames policies for recruitment in the central government?Story continues below this adThe Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, which comes under the Prime Minister, formulates policies pertaining to recruitment, regulation of service conditions, and deputation of personnel. It also advises all central government organisations on issues pertaining to personnel management. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), one of the departments under this ministry, frames policies and oversees recruitment for the central government.The role of the Union Public Service CommissionThe UPSC, the prime recruitment body, primarily selects Group A and Group B civil servants — high- and mid-level officers — besides overseeing some other appointments.In 2022-23, 25.70 lakh candidates appeared for the 22 examinations conducted by the UPSC.The body recommended the appointment of only 7,999 candidates — 6,074 candidates (including 134 candidates through Reserve List) for various civil services and 1,925 candidates for defence services.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Jharkhand HC stays job exam cancellation: What happens to candidates now?The UPSC is the nodal agency for recruitment through the lateral entry route as well, though this has still not started.Most of the UPSC examinations have three tiers — prelims, mains and personality tests. Some recruitments, however, happen only through interviews.The most prominent exam it conducts is the Civil Services Exam which is aimed at recruiting officials for 19 civil services including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS).The role of the Staff Selection CommissionThe SSC carries out recruitments for most non-gazetted Group B jobs (mid-level supervisory and administrative posts) and non-technical Group-C positions (clerical, technical and support posts) in various ministries and departments of the central government, as well as their attached and subordinate offices. The SSC also recruits assistants and lower divisional clerks for various ministries and attached offices based on their requirement.Story continues below this adLike the UPSC, the SSC, too, conducts a number of exams. These include the Combined Graduate Level Examination; Combined Higher Secondary Level Examination; Junior Engineer Examination; Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces Examination; Combined Hindi Translator Examination; Stenographer Grade ‘C’ and ‘D’ Examination; and Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff and Havaldar Examination.Also Read | Dispute, domicile and ‘dog’: What’s behind fresh student protests in BiharIn 2024-25, the SSC conducted 20 examinations in which a total of 2.05 crore candidates appeared. Its largest examination was the Multi-Tasking Staff (Non-Technical) and Havaldar Examination which saw 55.99 lakh candidates appearing at 279 venues in 130 cities. Of that 56 lakh, only 83,857 people were recruited.Interestingly, in SSC exams, the number of women candidates far outstrips the number of male candidates. In 2024, for instance, of the 1.85 crore candidates who appeared in 10 exams that were notified, 1.27 crore were women, 57.69 lakh candidates were male and 149 were transpersons.The minimum qualification for most examinations, including civil services, is graduation. Lower ranked jobs, however, require a minimum qualification of only Class 12. Since Group D (peon) jobs have now been merged with Group C jobs, and there are no more recruitment at that level, their work as well as those of sweepers is now outsourced to housekeeping firms.The Railways: the largest central government employerStory continues below this adThe Railways is the largest central government employer, with a workforce of more than 12 lakh. It maintains an annual recruitment calendar and conducts all-India examinations (since it’s a central entity).According to a July 22 Lok Sabha answer, 5.56 lakh people were recruited through these exams between 2014-15 to 2026-27 (up to June 30, 2026).Also read | Deeper jobs problem: India’s demographic dividend is at riskDuring 2024, total 10 Centralised Employment Notifications for 92,116 vacancies were notified for filling up of posts of Assistant Locomotive Pilots, Technicians, Sub Inspectors, Constables in Railway Protection Force, Junior Engineers/ Depot Material Superintendent/ Chemical and Metallurgical Assistant, Paramedical Categories, Non-Technical Popular Categories (Graduate), Non-Technical Popular Categories (Under Graduate), Ministerial and Isolated Categories and Level-1 categories such as Assistants, Track Maintainers and Pointsman.A total of 3.58 crore candidates appeared in the computer based examinations for these posts. Nine CENs were notified in 2025.What is the system in state governments?Story continues below this adWhile recruitments for Union Territories are made by central government agencies itself, the recruitment for three all-India services (IAS, IPS, Indian Forest Service or IFoS) have a centre-state nature — the UPSC allots recruits state cadres and they work under state governments. A limited percentage of officers are always on central deputation to serve under the Union government.State governments also have their own recruitment system — the State Public Service Commissions to select Group A and Group B officials for services such as the Provincial Civil Service (PCS), Provincial Police (PPS), and State Forest Service, among others. Successful candidates in Jharkhand’s JSSC-CGL recruitment exam protest its cancellation. PTIThe nature of the all-India services is such that officials from state services, after a particular year in service, are elevated to positions in IAS, IPS or IFoS. A mix of IAS, IPS and PCS and PPS of respective states run the government administration on the ground.Like the UPSC, these state commissions have similar three-tier systems of recruitment. In several states, however, recruitment controversies have erupted from time to time — Jharkhand is just the latest case. According to a rough estimate, all state public service commissions recommend nearly 25,000 to 30,000 candidates every year based on vacancies.Story continues below this adThere is no compiled data available for the total number of state employees. In Uttar Pradesh, for instance, there are nearly 16.35 lakh government employees, including nearly the police force of around 4 lakh.Tamil Nadu has an estimated 12 lakh state government employees. The figure is nearly 5.50 lakh in Kerala, around 4 lakh in Odisha, and nearly 4.5 lakh in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.The West Bengal government recently promised to recruit 1 lakh employees to fill its vacancies,States’ Subordinate Selection CommissionsAs most government employees are in Group C, many such posts — including police constables and sub-inspectors — are filled through separate recruitment bodies such as state Staff Selection Commissions, Subordinate Selection Commissions and Police Recruitment Boards.Holding these exams is a challenge as paper leaks have become a phenomenon. But for several youth, faced with a lack of private sector jobs, it is also the only option. A few years ago, over 48 lakh candidates applied for 60,244 police constable positions in Uttar Pradesh — which means 80 candidates for each post.What’s behind the appeal of government jobs?The chances of landing a government job are minuscule. Yet why do a huge number of youth in the country invest years preparing for competitive examinations?This is a deep issue with several underlying factors. In short, one of the key issues is youth unemployment. There is also a lack of quality jobs.Landing a government post, therefore, secures upward mobility for the entire family.Also Read | Amid youth protests, an anatomy of India’s employment over 10 yearsA government job also offers several perks — to begin with, job security. Once the probation period is cleared, an employee is virtually guaranteed employment until retirement. (There are, however, lay-off provisions that allow the government to prematurely retire a government official. It is exercised rarely).This became clear during the Covid-19 pandemic, when private companies cut salaries and jobs while government employees continued to receive full pay and allowances.Salaries of government employees are structured by Pay Commissions, ensuring guaranteed increments, Dearness Allowance linked to inflation, and other benefits.While the Old Pension Scheme once provided a lifelong inflation-indexed pension, current frameworks still deliver robust provident funds, gratuities, and comprehensive medical coverage after retirement.Depending on the particular service and state, employees often get subsidised housing, medical care for family, Leave Travel Concession, and education allowances. Fixed working hours and the absence of aggressive targets or weekend expectations provide comfortable routines and ample time for family life, unlike the private sector.