Executive Summary:
This document presents the Indian Ministry of Finance's response to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2441 regarding vacancies and staffing in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) as of June 30, 2025. It details the manpower assessment, staff positions, vacancies, contractual/outsourced workers, recruitment efforts, and measures to maintain adequate staffing levels in PSBs. The information was provided on August 4, 2025, in response to parliamentary inquiry.
Key Points / Main Content:
Staffing Levels and Vacancies:
* Manpower requirements in each PSB are determined by the respective bank based on business needs, activities, and employee exits.
* As of June 30, 2025, Annexure I provides a bank-wise breakdown of manpower assessed, staff in position, and vacant positions for officers, clerks, and sub-staff.
Contractual and Outsourced Workers:
* PSBs utilize outsourced agencies for non-core banking activities like housekeeping and security, following Reserve Bank of India guidelines.
* Banks ensure agencies comply with labor laws, including the Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act, and other relevant acts, to protect worker welfare.
* As of June 30, 2025, Annexure II details the total number of contractual and outsourced workers employed by each PSB.
Recruitment and Staffing Measures:
* During FY 2020-25, PSBs recruited 148,687 employees, and recruitment of 48,570 employees is underway for FY 2025-26.
* As of June 30, 2025, approximately 96 staff are in position against their business requirements.
* The gap between staff in position and business requirements is due to attrition from superannuation and other factors.
* No posts have been abolished in PSBs during the last six years.
Impact Analysis:
Public Sector Banks (PSBs):
* Impact: PSBs are responsible for assessing their manpower needs, managing recruitment, ensuring compliance with labor laws for contractual workers, and maintaining adequate staffing levels to facilitate smooth operations.
* Action Required: Review staffing levels against business needs, continue recruitment efforts, ensure compliance with labor laws for outsourced staff, and address attrition-related staffing gaps.
Contractual and Outsourced Workers:
* Impact: This group's welfare is directly affected by the PSBs' adherence to labor laws through their outsourced agencies.
* Action Required: Be aware of their rights under applicable labor laws and report any violations to the appropriate authorities.
Government of India (Ministry of Finance):
* Impact: The Ministry is responsible for overseeing the functioning of PSBs and ensuring they maintain adequate staffing levels to provide efficient banking services.
* Action Required: Monitor PSBs' recruitment efforts, compliance with labor laws, and overall staffing levels to ensure smooth banking operations and address any challenges caused by staff shortages.
Key Entities Referenced
Public Sector Banks: Refers to the various government-owned banks in India, often abbreviated as PSBs. The document discusses vacancies, recruitment, and staffing levels within these banks.
Ministry of Finance: A department of the Government of India responsible for financial matters.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India, where the question regarding vacancies in PSBs was raised.
Reserve Bank of India: The central bank of India, which provides guidelines regarding engaging contract workers on contract basis.
Minimum Wages Act, 1948: An Indian law that sets the minimum wages that must be paid to skilled and unskilled labourers.
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965: An Indian law that provides for the payment of bonus to employees in certain establishments.
Contract Labour Regulation Abolition Act, 1970: An Indian law that regulates the employment of contract labour in certain establishments and provides for its abolition in certain circumstances.
Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972: An Indian law that provides for the payment of gratuity to employees on termination of employment.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2441
ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 4 AUGUST, 2025 / 13 SRAVANA, 1947 (SAKA)
VACANCIES IN PSBs
2441. DR. BYREDDY SHABARI:
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:
(a) the sanctioned, filled and vacant positions for various job roles in each Public Sector Bank (PSB)
along with a detailed bank-wise breakdown;
(b) the total number of contractual and outsourced workers currently employed by each PSB, the roles
they are engaged in and the measures being taken to ensure their welfare;
(c) whether the Government has initiated or plans to initiate any recruitment drive to fill the existing
vacancies across PSBs and if so, the details thereof, including the number of posts to be filled along
with time-line and the measures taken to mitigate challenges caused due to staff shortage;
(d) the number of posts abolished in each PSB during the last six years, bank-wise and post- wise; and
(e) the steps being implemented or planned by the Government to maintain adequate staffing levels in
PSBs and to ensure smooth functioning of banking operations?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)
(a): Public Sector Banks (PSBs) are board governed commercial entities. The requirement of manpower
in each PSB is determined by the respective PSB keeping in view various factors which include, inter-
alia, business requirement, spread of activities, superannuation and other unplanned exits. Appointment
of officers and staff is done accordingly by the PSBs and it varies from year to year based on their
requirements. The bank-wise details with regard to the manpower assessed, staff in position and vacant
positions for various job roles in each PSB, as on 30.06.2025, is at Annexure-I.
(b): As per PSBs, the services of outsourced agencies are utilised to engage the contract workers for non-
core banking activities such as housekeeping, security guards, ATM guards etc., as per Reserve Bank of
India’s guidelines regarding engaging contract workers on contract basis. Banks ensure compliance with
statutory requirements by the agencies under applicable labour laws like Minimum Wages Act, 1948,
Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970 and Payment of Gratuity
Act, 1972, to safeguard the welfare of such workers. The total number of contractual and outsourced workers,
employed in PSBs as on 30.06.2025, is at Annexure-II.
(c) to (e): During the last 5 years (FY 2020-25), a total number of 148687 employees have been recruited
by the PSBs and for the FY 2025-26, recruitment of 48570 employees is under way. Also, as on
30.06.2025, approx. 96% staff are in position against their business requirements. The small proportion
of gap is attributable to attrition on account of superannuation and other usual factors including
unplanned exits. Banks have further informed that no post has been abolished during the last six years.
***Annexures referred to in reply of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2441 answered on 04.08.2025
Annexure- I
Data as on 30.06.2025
Name of the Bank
Manpower Assessed Staff in position Vacant Position
Officers Clerk Sub-staff Officers Clerk Sub-staff Officers Clerk Sub-staff
Bank of Baroda 49267 25678 6319 44507 25042 5319 4760 636 1000
Bank of India 29599 17874 4639 28558 17665 4651 1041 209 0
Bank of Maharashtra 10677 4131 1631 9917 3911 1631 760 220 0
Canara Bank 53955 20865 8898 53672 19515 8856 283 1350 42
Central Bank of India 22162 10152 4230 21040 8118 4230 1122 2034 0
Indian Overseas Bank 13443 6946 1398 12844 6844 1398 599 102 0
Indian Bank 27932 13449 1861 26426 12472 1861 1506 977 0
Punjab & Sind Bank 7464 2054 1489 7098 1980 1489 366 74 0
Punjab National Bank 56109 29487 22064 53837 28025 20900 2272 1462 1164
State Bank of India 116604 97163 25935 113099 91580 25935 3505 5583 0
UCO Bank 14334 5972 1907 13548 5758 1907 786 214 0
Union Bank of India 46513 22907 5915 46013 22907 5915 500 0 0
Source: Public Sector BanksAnnexure referred to in reply of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2441 answered on 04.08.2025
Annexure- II
Contractual and outsourced workers in PSBs as on 30.06.2025
Name of the Bank No. of Contractual and Outsourced workers
Bank of Baroda 4567
Bank of India 3834
Bank of Maharashtra 3544
Canara Bank 6538
Central Bank of India 2646
Indian Overseas Bank 1415
Indian Bank 5118
Punjab & Sind Bank 1525
Punjab National Bank 1005
State Bank of India 64995
UCO Bank 235
Union Bank of India 5627
TOTAL 101049
Source: Public Sector Banks