5,000 Vacancies in Cultural Ministry’s 45 Organisations

The Ministry of Culture has over 5,000 vacant posts in 45 of its organisations that include the well-recognized Archaeological Survey of India.

As per the Culture Minister, Mahesh Sharma, this has put the historical monuments at a risk as the security, conservation, and preservation of these historical sites is at stake due to the vacancies.

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In the Lok Sabha, the minister also informed that there are 15,607 sanctioned posts under the 45 organisations that have been operating under the Ministry of Culture. Out of these, only 10,284 posts are filled while the rest remain vacant.

Speaking during the Question Hour, the minister said that the vacancies have been building up over the years and that measures were being taken to fill these posts. The ministry has also been trying to appoint people on a contractual basis, to fill the posts that remain vacant.

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The Minister further informed that the posts that remained vacant were those of archaeologists and conservationists. It has been difficult to fill up these posts with eligible candidates as the old norms that were set in place to recruit these professionals were very strict.

The norms to recruit have been relaxed so that people can be hired to fill the posts while maintaining eligibility criteria.