It is that time of the year when public attention coalesces around the economy—and the second quarter GDP growth of 5.4 percent has catalysed angst among the public. The issue merits attention and urgency. The winter session of parliament would have been an appropriate forum for a discussion. That was not to be.
So how is India doing? It is often said that the question informs what the answers may not. India’s reality is wedged between questions asked by members in parliament and the answers provided by the government. The late Bibek Debroy once quipped that the style sheet of governments has options on how not to address a question; parliamentary records have quite a few examples of this.
First, the good news presented by the statistics ministry. The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey of 2023-24 reveals that the rural Indian’s average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) is at Rs 4,122 and for the urban Indian is Rs 6,996—up from Rs 1,430 and Rs 2,630 in 2011-12. On cue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alluding to welfare schemes, observed at the Grameen Mahotsav that the purchasing power of the people in villages has increased almost three times.
The survey has produced a new view on the level of poverty. A recent SBI study stated, “At an aggregate level, we believe poverty rates in India could now be in the range of 4-4.5 percent.” Without traversing the torturous terrain of statistics, the question that begs to be asked is if the poverty level is sub-5 percent, why are 81.3 crore people being provided free rations under the PMGKAY. Be that as it may, the MPCE data is at variance with perceptions of negative real rural wages and weak demand at the frontiers of consumption.
All consumption is about incomes and rests on job creation. Jobs are being created—whether those racing for 10-minute deliveries or at global capability centres—but clearly far fewer than adequate. The government unveiled an ambitious programme called Employment Linked Incentive Scheme allocating Rs 2 lakh crore targeting 4.1 crore young people across five years. The complex scheme is yet to take off and has a new deadline of January 15. It is pertinent to note that the adoption of the new labour code, critical for China+1 hopes, is pending in states since 2019. The new deadline is March 31, 2025.
What about existing jobs—the unfilled posts in government? At this winter session, MPs across party lines in both Houses asked for “the number of vacancies in departments and ministries of the Union government”. The answer provided: “The occurrence and filling up of vacant posts, including reserved category vacancies, in various ministries, departments and PSUs under the central government is a continuous process.” The template adds that the data on vacancies is maintained by the respective ministries, departments and PSUs. The response on central public enterprises: deployment of manpower depends “upon the growth and volume of the business, and is not vacancy-based”.
Answers to such questions were forthcoming not long ago. In February 2023, the personnel ministry informed the Lok Sabha that there were 9.79 lakh vacancies—roughly one in four posts—across levels in the Union government. In December 2024, the railways ministry, when asked about the year’s vacancies, stated the “filling of vacancies is a continuous process”, whereas in August 2023 the same ministry revealed it had 2.6 lakh vacant posts. It is unclear if the unfilled posts are a strategy of stealth reforms, which would be welcome, or sheer sloth.
The chasm between questions and answers afflicts performance and assessment of critical sectors. The education ministry was asked in December 2024 about the number of sanctioned and vacant posts in elementary schools. The government took refuge behind constitutionality—education was a concurrent subject and vacancies were in the states’ domain. In August 2023, the government had informed the Rajya Sabha that of the 48.10 lakh teacher posts, over 7.47 lakh were vacant.
The delays in the judicial process that haunt citizens and businesses also daunt investments. As of January 2025, there are over 5.16 crore cases pending—82,881 in the Supreme Court, 62 lakh in high courts and over 4.5 crore in subordinate courts. The circumstance has created criminal entrepreneurship, too. A conman in the Gandhinagar area conducted a fake court from 2019 until he was nabbed in October 2024. In Gujarat, one of the most industrialised and prosperous states, 20 of the 52 posts for high court judges and 535 of the 1,720 judgeships in subordinate courts are vacant.
The state of vacancies in high courts and subordinate courts is stark—nearly one in three, or 371 of 1,122 posts in high courts, and 5,262 out of 25,741 posts in lower courts are unfilled. Bihar has over 36 lakh cases pending, of which 30 lakh are criminal cases; UP has 1.15 crore pending, of which over 97 lakh are criminal cases. Between them, the states account for over 1,500 vacant judgeships. The consistency is striking. A fifth or over 5,000 posts have been vacant between 2019 and 2024. Why are vacancies high in the courts with the highest pendency? Filling posts in lower courts is the responsibility of high courts and state governments.
There is an old maxim about governance: that which is measured can be improved. It is also true that sharing data in public catalyses a constituency for change. Sunlight, after all, is a good disinfectant—of germs and germination of systemic apathy.
