New Delhi: Over 2,500 posts, including those of Directors, Scientists, and Researchers, are currently vacant in key science departments under the central government, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.

In a written reply, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh said the vacancies exist in the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

In the Department of Science and Technology, 187 posts of scientists, one post of director, and 41 student and researcher positions are vacant. Of these, 58 scientific positions are reserved — 16 for Scheduled Castes (SC), 9 for Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 33 for Other Backward Classes (OBC).

The Department of Biotechnology has 114 vacant posts for scientists, six for directors, and 51 for students and researchers. Among them, 42 scientific positions are reserved — 12 for SCs, 6 for STs, and 20 for OBCs. For students and researchers, 26 reserved vacancies exist.

The CSIR has the highest number of vacancies with 2,238 posts for scientists and two for directors. Of the scientific vacancies, 278 are reserved for SCs, 136 for STs, and 468 for OBCs. There are no sanctioned posts for student researchers in CSIR.

In terms of recruitment over the past five years, 69 SC and 36 ST scientists were recruited by CSIR; DST recruited 16 SC and 8 ST scientists, while DBT recruited 22 SC and 5 ST scientists.

Dr. Singh clarified that there has been no delay or denial in promotion of SC/ST scientists under the Modified Flexible Complementing Scheme, and that recruitment is a continuous process carried out as per applicable rules.