NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed various government departments and ministries to recruit 10 lakh people in a mission mode in the next one-and-half years, said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), on Tuesday.

The direction came following a review of the status of human resources in all departments and ministries, said the PMO. The prime minister’s decision came in the wake of the opposition’s frequent criticism on the issue of unemployment.

According to government data, there were 87 lakh vacant posts in central government departments as on March 1, 2020. Although 40 lakh employees have been allotted in various departments, only 32 lakh are currently employed under the central government. Despite government’s efforts to fill the vacancies, there has not been any apparent changes in the regard.

According to media reports, most of the vacancies are in the departments of railways, postal, defence and revenue. There are around 2.3 lakh vacancies in the railways alone. Nearly one lakh posts are vacant in the postal department, 2.5 lakh in defence, 74,000 in revenue and 1.3 lakhs in the home department.