**Executive Summary**
This document is the answer to Unstarred Question No. 2935 in Lok Sabha, answered on December 17, 2025, regarding vacant posts in the Ministry of Communications. It provides details on sanctioned and vacant posts, reserved posts since 2014, and the number of contractual employees hired since 2014, across various categories. The information is broken down by the Department of Posts and the Department of Telecommunications.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Sanctioned and Vacant Posts:**
* The Ministry of Communications has 2,58,362 sanctioned posts.
* 2,01,932 posts are filled.
* 54,649 posts are vacant, including reserved posts.
* **Vacancies Since 2014 (Annexure A):**
* Detailed year-wise and category-wise (UR, OBC, SC, ST, EWS) breakdown of vacancies in the Department of Posts and Department of Telecommunications is provided.
* The data shows the number of vacancies for each year from 2014 to 2025, categorized by unreserved (UR) and reserved (OBC, SC, ST, EWS) categories.
* **Contractual Employees Since 2014 (Annexure B):**
* Contractual labor in the Ministry of Communications is engaged through open tenders from private vendors via the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
* Category-wise reservation is not applicable to contractual labor.
* The Department of Telecommunications has not engaged any contractual labor since 2014.
* A table is provided with details of contractual labor hired in the Department of Posts, year-wise, from 2014 to 2025, showing a total of 4,532 hires.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Communications / Department of Posts / Department of Telecommunications**
* **Impact:** Provides data that may be used to determine staffing needs and inform hiring practices within the departments, including decisions on hiring contractual laborers.
* **Action Required:** Review the data to identify trends in vacancies and contractual hiring, and adjust staffing plans as needed.
**Minister of Communications / Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development**
* **Impact:** Required to answer the question in Lok Sabha.
* **Action Required:** Use the provided information to address the Unstarred Question No. 2935 in Lok Sabha.
**SMT. RACHNA BANERJEE**
* **Impact:** Receives detailed information on sanctioned, vacant, and contractual posts.
* **Action Required:** Review the answer to determine if further inquiry is necessary.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Communications: The primary ministry mentioned, responsible for the posts and telecommunications departments which are the subject of the parliamentary question.
Department of Posts: One of the departments within the Ministry of Communications, with information on contractual labor included.
Department of Telecommunications: One of the departments within the Ministry of Communications.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF POSTS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2935
ANSWERED ON 17TH DECEMBER, 2025
VACANT POSTS IN MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
2935. SMT. RACHNA BANERJEE:
Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:
(a) the number of sanctioned posts in position and the number of vacancies including in reserved
posts across categories in the Ministry of Communications;
(b) the details of the number of vacancies in the Ministry and Department including reserved
posts since 2014, year and category-wise; and
(c) the details of the number of contractual employees hired since 2014, year and category-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)
(a) There are 2,58,362 sanctioned posts under the Ministry of Communications, out
of which 2,01,932 posts are filled up and 54,649 posts are vacant, including reserved
posts across categories.
(b) The details of number of vacancies in the Ministry and its Departments,
including reserved posts since 2014, year-wise and category-wise, is attached as
Annexure A.
(c) Contractual labours in the Ministry of Communications are engaged through
open tenders from private vendors (through Government e-Marketplace i.e. GeM) as
per requirements. Category-wise reservation is not applicable to such contractual
labours. The details of number of contractual labours hired since 2014, year-wise are
attached as Annexure-B.
1Annexure-A
(b) Details of the number of vacancies in the Ministry and Department including reserved posts since
2014, year and category wise
Department of Posts
S.N. Year UR OBC SC ST EWS Total
1 2014 11024 2767 2354 1549 0 17694
2 2015 10098 2468 2452 1297 0 16315
3 2016 10656 2268 2536 1370 0 16830
4 2017 11208 2496 2680 1454 0 17838
5 2018 10173 2058 2689 1305 0 16225
6 2019 11971 2554 3206 1527 1189 20447
7 2020 11253 2448 3283 1451 1384 19819
8 2021 11794 2607 3306 1485 1489 20681
9 2022 26768 7121 7378 3598 3388 48253
10 2023 12124 2831 3502 1517 1249 21223
11 2024 15944 4388 4481 2138 1860 28811
12 2025 21520 14346 7970 3984 5313 53133
Department of Telecommunications
S.N. Year UR OBC SC ST EWS Total
1 2014 656 151 117 62 - 986
2 2015 705 131 125 67 - 1028
3 2016 669 133 136 76 - 1014
4 2017 1405 122 299 182 - 2008
5 2018 651 107 146 99 - 1003
6 2019 712 115 170 89 41 1127
7 2020 730 130 162 89 63 1174
8 2021 656 98 142 80 48 1024
9 2022 1070 108 215 113 41 1547
10 2023 578 97 103 53 37 868
11 2024 484 100 108 53 39 784
12 2025 614 409 227 114 152 1516
Ministry of Communications (including both i.e. Department of Posts and
Department of Telecommunications
S.N. Year UR OBC SC ST EWS Total
1 2014 11680 2918 2471 1611 0 18680
2 2015 10803 2599 2577 1364 0 17343
3 2016 11325 2401 2672 1446 0 17844
4 2017 12613 2618 2979 1636 0 19846
5 2018 10824 2165 2835 1404 0 17228
6 2019 12683 2669 3376 1616 1230 21574
7 2020 11983 2578 3445 1540 1447 20993
8 2021 12450 2705 3448 1565 1537 21705
9 2022 27838 7229 7593 3711 3429 49800
10 2023 12702 2928 3605 1570 1286 22091
11 2024 16428 4488 4589 2191 1899 29595
12 2025 22134 14755 8197 4098 5465 54649
2Annexure-B
(c) The details of contractual labours hired in the Department of Posts only in the Ministry of
Communications are as under, as in the Department of Telecommunications no contractual
labours has been engaged since 2014:
S.N. Year Number of contractual labours hired in
Ministry of Communications
1 2014 278
2 2015 298
3 2016 348
4 2017 235
5 2018 303
6 2019 323
7 2020 334
8 2021 388
9 2022 443
10 2023 540
11 2024 617
12 2025 425
Total 4532
*****
3