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Empty chairs: 17,880 posts reserved for SCs lay unfilled in ten Central Government Ministries on 1 January 2021
How many posts reserved for Scheduled Castes in Central Government Ministries and Departments are unfilled, where, and is the backlog shrinking?
Key takeaways
- In DoPT’s latest Ministry-by-Ministry figures, as on 1 January 2021, 17,880 of the 31,082 SC backlog posts in ten Ministries and Departments were left unfilled. Exhibit 5
- In the eight Ministries and Departments DoPT reported on in 2017, 2020 and 2021, posts left unfilled numbered 4,435 in 2017, 14,366 in 2020 and 11,694 in 2021. Exhibit 1
- Home Affairs and Railways held 8,643 of the 17,880 posts left unfilled (48.3%). Exhibit 2
- Across the ten Ministries and Departments, 42.5% of SC backlog posts had been filled by 1 January 2021, from 2.4% in Defence to 78.9% in Defence Production. Exhibit 3
Backlog reserved vacancies for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in the ten Central Government Ministries and Departments the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) follows, as on 1 January of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, as DoPT told the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s Parliament, in 7 answers from 19 December 2018 to 20 July 2022.
- SC backlog posts unfilled in ten Ministries, 1 Jan 2021
- 17,880
- unfilled in the same eight Ministries, 2017 to 2021
- 4,435 → 11,694
Exhibit 1
In the eight Ministries and Departments DoPT reported on in 2017, 2020 and 2021, the posts reserved for SCs left unfilled numbered 4,435 in 2017, 14,366 in 2020 and 11,694 in 2021
SC backlog reserved vacancies left unfilled, posts, in the same eight Ministries and Departments (Posts, Defence Production, Financial Services, Atomic Energy, Defence, Railways, Revenue and Housing and Urban Affairs), on 1 January of each year, 2017 to 2021.
Columns by date: 1 Jan 2017 4,435; 1 Jan 2018 no figure for these Ministries; 1 Jan 2019 no figure for these Ministries; 1 Jan 2020 14,366; 1 Jan 2021 11,694.
- 2017
- 2018No figure for all eight
- 2019No figure for all eight
- 2020
- 2021
Note: The 2017 figures are for backlog posts found from 1 April 2012 to 31 December 2016, and include the Ministries’ public sector banks, financial institutions and public sector undertakings. For 2018 and 2019, DoPT gave totals for fewer Ministries only (Exhibit 4). In two rows of the 2021 table (Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Home Affairs), the unfilled count DoPT prints for SCs is not the backlog minus the posts filled, and the gap runs in opposite directions (Railways 4,445 printed, 3,358 worked out and Home Affairs 4,450 printed, 5,285 worked out). Every answer that prints the table gives the same figures, and no answer explains or corrects them. This page counts posts left unfilled as the backlog minus the posts filled, which is the printed count in every other row of every table; Exhibit 5 shows the printed counts beside it.
Source: Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), annexures to Lok Sabha Starred Question 130, 19 December 2018 and Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 5206, 24 July 2019 (as on 1 Jan 2017), Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 461, 1 December 2021 and Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 2778, 15 December 2021 (as on 1 Jan 2020) and Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4378, 30 March 2022 and Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 638, 20 July 2022 (as on 1 Jan 2021). Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Exhibit 2
Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Railways held 8,643 of the 17,880 unfilled SC backlog posts (48.3%) in ten Ministries and Departments on 1 January 2021
SC backlog reserved vacancies left unfilled, posts, by Ministry or Department, as on 1 Jan 2021.
Bars: Ministry of Home Affairs 5,285; Ministry of Railways 3,358; Department of Revenue 2,762; Department of Defence Production 1,871; Ministry of Defence 1,803; Department of Posts 1,044; Ministry of Education 901; Department of Financial Services 674; Department of Atomic Energy 116; Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs 66.
- Ministry of Home Affairs5,285
- Ministry of Railways3,358
- Department of Revenue2,762
- Department of Defence Production1,871
- Ministry of Defence1,803
- Department of Posts1,044
- Ministry of Education901
- Department of Financial Services674
- Department of Atomic Energy116
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs66
Note: In two rows of the 2021 table (Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Home Affairs), the unfilled count DoPT prints for SCs is not the backlog minus the posts filled, and the gap runs in opposite directions (Railways 4,445 printed, 3,358 worked out and Home Affairs 4,450 printed, 5,285 worked out). Every answer that prints the table gives the same figures, and no answer explains or corrects them. This page counts posts left unfilled as the backlog minus the posts filled, which is the printed count in every other row of every table; Exhibit 5 shows the printed counts beside it. DoPT prints no total; 17,880 is the sum of the ten rows.
Source: Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), annexures to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4378, 30 March 2022 and Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 638, 20 July 2022, “Data on backlog reserved vacancies as on 31 Dec 2020 (1 Jan 2021)”. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Exhibit 3
By 1 January 2021, Defence had filled 45 of its 1,848 SC backlog posts (2.4%); Defence Production had filled 6,976 of 8,847 (78.9%)
SC backlog reserved vacancies filled, as a share of each Ministry’s or Department’s SC backlog, %, as on 1 Jan 2021.
Bars: Defence 45 of 1,848, 2.4%; Revenue 477 of 3,239, 14.7%; Atomic Energy 21 of 137, 15.3%; Home Affairs 1,108 of 6,393, 17.3%; Education 210 of 1,111, 18.9%; Posts 408 of 1,452, 28.1%; Financial Services 294 of 968, 30.4%; Railways 3,582 of 6,940, 51.6%; Housing and Urban Affairs 81 of 147, 55.1%; Defence Production 6,976 of 8,847, 78.9%.
- DefenceAll ten 42.5%2.4%
- Revenue14.7%
- Atomic Energy15.3%
- Home Affairs17.3%
- Education18.9%
- Posts28.1%
- Financial Services30.4%
- Railways51.6%
- Housing and Urban Affairs55.1%
- Defence Production78.9%
Note: The share is worked out from the backlog and the posts filled as printed. DoPT does not say over what period the posts were filled. The dashed line is all ten together: 13,202 filled of 31,082.
Source: Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), annexures to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4378, 30 March 2022 and Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 638, 20 July 2022, “Data on backlog reserved vacancies as on 31 Dec 2020 (1 Jan 2021)”. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Exhibit 4
DoPT’s SC backlog for 1 January 2018 is 7,532 posts in five Ministries and 22,203 posts in nine Ministries, depending on the answer: its totals change with how many Ministries reported
SC backlog reserved vacancies, posts filled and posts left unfilled, posts, as each answer gives them, with how many Ministries and Departments each total covers.
Table of 7 totals: 1 Jan 2017, 10 Ministries, 29,198 backlog, 20,975 filled, 8,223 unfilled; 1 Jan 2018, 5 Ministries, 7,532 backlog, 4,514 filled, 3,018 unfilled; 1 Jan 2018, 9 Ministries, 22,203 backlog, 10,728 filled, 11,475 unfilled; 1 Jan 2019, 7 Ministries, 24,885 backlog, 14,092 filled, 10,793 unfilled; 1 Jan 2020, 6 Ministries, 21,847 backlog, 11,848 filled, 9,999 unfilled; 1 Jan 2020, 8 Ministries, 28,345 backlog, 13,979 filled, 14,366 unfilled; 1 Jan 2021, 10 Ministries, 31,082 backlog, 13,202 filled, 17,880 unfilled.
As on Ministries Backlogposts Filledposts Unfilledposts Answer 1 Jan 2017 10 29,198 20,975 8,223 Starred 130 (2018); Unstarred 5206 (2019); Unstarred 395 (2021) 1 Jan 2018 5 7,532 4,514 3,018 Starred 130 (2018); Unstarred 5206 (2019) 1 Jan 2018 9 22,203 10,728 11,475 Unstarred 395 (2021) 1 Jan 2019 7 24,885 14,092 10,793 Unstarred 395 (2021) 1 Jan 2020 6 21,847 11,848 9,999 Unstarred 395 (2021) 1 Jan 2020 8 28,345 13,979 14,366 Unstarred 461 (2021); Unstarred 2778 (2021) 1 Jan 2021 10 31,082 13,202 17,880 Unstarred 4378 (2022); Unstarred 638 (2022) (sum of rows) Note: Totals for different numbers of Ministries cannot be compared with each other. Where an answer prints no total, the total is the sum of its rows, with posts left unfilled worked out as the backlog minus the posts filled.
Source: Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), answers in the Lok Sabha, 19 December 2018 to 20 July 2022 (7 answers, listed under Sources). Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Exhibit 5
On 1 January 2021, 17,880 of the 31,082 SC backlog posts in ten Ministries and Departments were unfilled; 13,202 had been filled
SC backlog reserved vacancies, posts filled, posts left unfilled (backlog minus filled) and the unfilled count DoPT prints, posts, by Ministry or Department, as on 1 Jan 2021, in the order DoPT prints them.
Table: Defence Production 8,847 backlog, 6,976 filled, 1,871 left unfilled, 1,871 unfilled as printed; Railways 6,940 backlog, 3,582 filled, 3,358 left unfilled, 4,445 unfilled as printed; Financial Services 968 backlog, 294 filled, 674 left unfilled, 674 unfilled as printed; Posts 1,452 backlog, 408 filled, 1,044 left unfilled, 1,044 unfilled as printed; Defence 1,848 backlog, 45 filled, 1,803 left unfilled, 1,803 unfilled as printed; Housing and Urban Affairs 147 backlog, 81 filled, 66 left unfilled, 66 unfilled as printed; Home Affairs 6,393 backlog, 1,108 filled, 5,285 left unfilled, 4,450 unfilled as printed; Atomic Energy 137 backlog, 21 filled, 116 left unfilled, 116 unfilled as printed; Revenue 3,239 backlog, 477 filled, 2,762 left unfilled, 2,762 unfilled as printed; Education 1,111 backlog, 210 filled, 901 left unfilled, 901 unfilled as printed.
Ministry or Department Backlogposts Filledposts Left unfilledposts Unfilled as printedposts Same? Defence Production 8,847 6,976 1,871 1,871 Yes Railways 6,940 3,582 3,358 4,445 No Financial Services 968 294 674 674 Yes Posts 1,452 408 1,044 1,044 Yes Defence 1,848 45 1,803 1,803 Yes Housing and Urban Affairs 147 81 66 66 Yes Home Affairs 6,393 1,108 5,285 4,450 No Atomic Energy 137 21 116 116 Yes Revenue 3,239 477 2,762 2,762 Yes Education 1,111 210 901 901 Yes Note: In two rows of the 2021 table (Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Home Affairs), the unfilled count DoPT prints for SCs is not the backlog minus the posts filled, and the gap runs in opposite directions (Railways 4,445 printed, 3,358 worked out and Home Affairs 4,450 printed, 5,285 worked out). Every answer that prints the table gives the same figures, and no answer explains or corrects them. This page counts posts left unfilled as the backlog minus the posts filled, which is the printed count in every other row of every table; Exhibit 5 shows the printed counts beside it. The same tables give figures for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), which are not shown here.
Source: Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), annexures to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4378, 30 March 2022 and Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 638, 20 July 2022, “Data on backlog reserved vacancies as on 31 Dec 2020 (1 Jan 2021)”. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026.
What’s next
The next update
We will update these figures after the next answer in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha (Parliament’s upper house) that gives the backlog by Ministry. This is version 1.
What the data can’t tell us yet
The backlog after 1 January 2021: DoPT collects it from the Ministries but has not published it since 2022, and its answers to the Lok Sabha since then give no figures.
What you can do
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About this data
- What this shows
- How many posts reserved for SCs in the Central Government Ministries and Departments DoPT follows were carried forward unfilled, and how many had been filled, as on 1 January of each year from 2017 to 2021.
- Source
- Lok Sabha; answer by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (Department of Personnel and Training), Government of India, 9 documents, Annexure. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 9 Oct 2026. Every source
- What it does not show
- The backlog after 1 January 2021: DoPT collects it from the Ministries but has not published it since 2022, and its answers to the Lok Sabha since then give no figures.
- Last updated
- 9 Oct 2026 · Next expected update: after the next answer in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha (Parliament’s upper house) that gives the backlog by Ministry
- Corrections
- Changelog (version 1) · Corrections policy