**Executive Summary**
This document is an answer provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry to the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 596, addressing vacancies within the Ministry. The response, dated February 3rd, 2026, details the number of sanctioned posts, vacancies including reserved posts, and contractual employees hired since 2014, categorized by department, year, and social category (UR, SC, ST, OBC, EWS).
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Department Structure:**
* The Ministry of Commerce & Industry comprises two departments: the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and the Department of Commerce.
* **Sanctioned Posts and Vacancies (as of February 3, 2026):**
* *Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade:* 727 sanctioned posts, 538 in position, and 189 vacancies including reserved posts.
* *Department of Commerce:* 574 sanctioned posts, 501 in position, and 73 vacancies including reserved posts.
* **Vacancy Recruitment (2014 - 2026):**
* Recruitment is conducted by respective Cadre Controlling Authorities, adhering to service and recruitment rules and ensuring reservation policy implementation.
* Data is provided for each department, listing the total vacancies, and their distribution across the UR, SC, ST, OBC, and EWS categories, from 2014 to 2026.
* *Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade:* Tables showing vacancies from 2014-2026 for each category.
* *Department of Commerce:* Tables showing vacancies from 2014-2026 for each category.
* **Contractual Employees (2014-2026):**
* Contractual employees are hired through open advertisement/outsourcing agencies/GeM empaneled service providers based on functional requirements.
* Category-wise roster is not maintained for contractual manpower.
* *Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade:* Lists number of contractual employees hired each year from 2014 to 2026.
* *Department of Commerce:* Lists number of contractual employees hired each year from 2014 to 2026.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholders**
* **Ministry of Commerce & Industry (Including Departments)**
* **Impact:** Provides data of the sanctioned strength, vacancies, and employees on contract.
* **Action Required:** Ensure adequate processes are followed for recruitment.
* **Cadre Controlling Authorities**
* **Impact:** Responsible for recruiting personnel.
* **Action Required:** Continue to follow relevant policies for the recruitment of staff and adhere to the reservation policy.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Commerce & Industry: The central focus of the questions regarding vacancies and contractual employees.
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade: One of the two departments within the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, data is provided separately.
Department of Commerce: One of the two departments within the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, data is provided separately.
Reservation Policy: The policy that cadre controlling authorities must implement, regarding reserved posts in vacancies.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
DEPARTMENT FOR PROMOTION OF INDUSTRY AND INTERNAL TRADE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 596.
TO BE ANSWERED ON TUESDAY, THE 03RD FEBRUARY, 2026.
VACANCIES IN MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
596. SHRI BAPI HALDAR:
Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:
वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री
(a) the number of sanctioned posts in position and the number of vacancies
including reserved posts across categories at the Ministry;
(b) the number of vacancies in the Ministry and Department including reserved
posts since 2014, year and category-wise; and
(c) the number of contractual employees hired since 2014, year and category-
wise?
ANSWER
वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्य मंत्री (श्री णिणिन प्रसाद)
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY
(SHRI JITIN PRASADA)
(a): Ministry of Commerce & Industry has two Departments, namely, Department of
Commerce and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The
details of sanctioned, in position and number of vacancies in Ministry of
Commerce & Industry including reserved posts across categories is as follows:
i. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
Number of sanctioned In Number of vacancies including
posts position reserved posts
727 538 189
ii. Department of Commerce
Number of sanctioned In Number of vacancies including
posts position reserved posts
574 501 73
(b): Recruitment to various categories of posts of Ministry of Commerce & Industry
is made by the respective Cadre Controlling Authorities (Department of
Personnel and Training, Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Official
Language, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation etc.) as perthe prescribed Service Rules/ Recruitment Rules. These Cadre Controlling
Authorities have to ensure implementation of the reservation policy. The
number of vacancies in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry for the posts for
which recruitment is done by this Ministry, including the reserved posts, year
and category wise is as under:
i. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
S. Year Total Category wise data for which reservation is
No. Vacancies* applicable
UR SC ST OBC EWS
1. 2014 63 25 1 5 16 NA
2. 2015 28 5 0 1 2 NA
3. 2016 41 12 0 2 5 NA
4. 2017 50 13 0 3 8 NA
5. 2018 48 11 0 2 5 1
6. 2019 50 13 0 2 5 2
7. 2020 52 7 0 1 7 4
8. 2021 58 13 0 1 6 3
9. 2022 59 9 1 2 6 5
10. 2023 60 12 3 2 5 3
11. 2024 71 9 3 3 11 9
12. 2025 74 11 3 3 12 7
13. 2026 53 6 1 1 3 1
*the mode of recruitment for some of these ex-cadre posts is through deputation/absorption
etc., and reservation provisions are not applicable to posts filled through deputation or
absorption.
ii. Department of Commerce
S. No. Year Total UR SC ST OBC EWS
Vacancies
1. 2014 55 31 0 0 24 0
2. 2015 41 27 0 0 14 0
3. 2016 39 26 0 0 13 0
4. 2017 46 28 0 0 18 0
5. 2018 46 28 0 0 18 0
6. 2019 23 11 2 0 0 10
7. 2020 19 9 0 0 0 10
8. 2021 25 13 0 0 2 10
9. 2022 28 16 1 1 0 10
10. 2023 22 10 0 1 1 10
11. 2024 42 23 5 3 1 10
12. 2025 42 12 7 5 8 10
13. 2026 35 16 4 5 7 3(c): The contractual employees are hired for specific task to be performed through
an open advertisement/ outsourcing agencies/ government e- Marketplace
(GeM) empaneled service providers, based on the functional requirements of
both the Departments in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The category-wise
roster is not maintained in respect of contractual manpower hired. The number
of contractual employees hired since 2014, year wise is as follows:
i. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
Year Contractual Manpower
2014 102
2015 143
2016 144
2017 134
2018 133
2019 130
2020 233
2021 269
2022 254
2023 300
2024 353
2025 341
2026 301
ii. Department of Commerce
Year Contractual Manpower
2014 34
2015 39
2016 40
2017 100
2018 122
2019 141
2020 151
2021 144
2022 123
2023 158
2024 192
2025 184
2026 176
********