Health Department tops as 77,099 Government posts remain vacant

Srinagar, Feb 11: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Wednesday informed the Legislative Assembly that 77,099 posts are currently vacant across various departments, including positions under both direct recruitment and promotion quotas.

Of these, 40,666 vacancies fall under the direct recruitment quota, potentially opening opportunities for thousands of job aspirants amid growing concerns over unemployment in the Union Territory.

Responding to a question by legislator Balwant Singh Mankotia, who flagged unemployment as the “biggest challenge” facing J&K youth, the government stopped short of explicitly agreeing but acknowledged the need to expand employment avenues.

“The J&K Government recognises the aspirations of the youth and is taking sustained measures to enhance employment opportunities through public sector recruitment, promotion of self-employment, skill development and facilitation of private sector engagement,” the official reply stated.

The government described employment generation as a “continuous and multi-dimensional process” pursued in line with policy frameworks and administrative requirements.

Breakdown of the vacancies shows that under the direct recruitment quota, 3,808 Gazetted posts, 24,507 Non-Gazetted posts and 12,351 Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) posts are vacant across 38 departments. The Health and Medical Education Department accounts for the largest share, with 13,297 vacancies.

Under the promotion quota, 6,409 Gazetted, 24,451 Non-Gazetted and 5,573 MTS posts remain unfilled.

The government assured the House that all referred vacancies will be filled in a time-bound manner, adding that recruitment agencies have already initiated examination and selection processes.

In a separate reply to a question by legislator SajjadGani Lone, the government said 7,299 vacancies have been referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB).

It is further informed that 1,230 selections have been finalised by the two recruiting agencies in 2025 so far. Of these, JKPSC completed 469 Union Territory-level selections, including 244 Open Merit candidates. JKSSB finalised 761 selections — 363 for the Kashmir division and 398 for the Jammu division.

Addressing concerns regarding regional representation, the government stated that there is no inverse mismatch between population share and selections. “Selections are made irrespective of the division to which the candidate belongs,” it said.