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More than four lakh backlog vacancies in government jobs reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates have been filled since 2016, the Parliament was informed. 

"Occurrence and filling of vacancies, including the backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process," Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Instructions have been issued to all ministries and departments of the central government to constitute an in-house committee for identification of backlog reserved vacancies, to study the root cause of such vacancies, to initiate measures to remove the factors causing such vacancies and to fill them up including through special recruitment drives, the minister said.

The minister said each ministry/department of the central government is required to designate an officer of the rank of Deputy Secretary and above, as Liaison Officer, to ensure due compliance of the orders and instructions pertaining to reservation.

Each ministry/department is also required to set up a special reservation cell to assist the Liaison Officer.

In answer to another question, the minister also said that the Government has undertaken the ‘Initiative for Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making in Government’ in alignment with the policy of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance'.

The initiative for increasing efficiency in decision making, incorporated into the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure, adopted a four pronged approach with focus on delayering, delegation, digitization and desk officer system was implemented in all Ministries/Departments. In November 2024, the Government has issued directions to review the levels of disposal and channels of submission in Ministries/Departments and ensure that the levels do not exceed four.

Mission Karmayogi is an initiative of the central government to enhance the attitudes, skills and knowledge of the Government employees. The mission targets to build capacity on domain, functional as well as behavioral competencies.

A key feature of the Mission is the digital learning platform – IGOT Karmayogi, which provides more than 1500 courses to help civil servants upgrade their skills in governance, policy implementation, and technology. It promotes ensuring more efficient public service delivery and helps foster efficiency, accountability and transparency in the public service, Singh explained.