"Jobs must be protected even if it means some reduction in compensation at various levels in these times of economic downturn," thundered the Union finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, at the International Labour Conference recently.

Clearly, the Central government and the finance ministry in particular, seem to practice the contrary.

During the current fiscal year, the incremental growth in the headcount of the bureaucracy is estimated at 91,907.

And, if we go by the interim budget figures, the ranks of those who serve in the finance ministry are expected to go up by 30,315 or by as much as 33% of the additional influx to the corridors of power.

But the good side of the bad news is that, in the next year, government is going slow in the matter of offering employment opportunities; the new entrants will come down to 42,793. the even better tidings is that, it is the police force that stands to be spruced up by more than 36,500 —- a welcome move in the context of terrorist threats that loom large.

At least one wing of the sprawling bureaucracy is taking the issue of shedding the flab more seriously. On top of trimming its numbers by 5,087 this year, the department of posts is envisaged to prune the staff by 5,030 in 2009-10.

The ministry of railways also stands out. By exactly matching the rate of attrition of its workforce with the rate of induction during 2008-09 and this year, its staff strength is unchanged at 1398139. What is more, in 2009-10 as well, the total employment is to stay at this level, according to the vote-on-account.

Ironically, the need for austerity was never more urgent than this year when the Union finances are groaning under the burden of the Sixth Pay Commission's recommendations which would cost the exchequer Rs 10,978 crore by way of arrears alone and an additional Rs 16,483 crore in the next fiscal.

And instead of downsizing, the finance ministry has boosted the strength of the department of revenue by 16,836 new recruits and the Internal Audit and Accounts Service by several thousands at 12,689.

The departments of economic affairs, financial services and expenditure have been augmented by a couple of hundreds. And, since disinvestment is in a limbo, one would have thought that this department would face the axe; rather, there is a modest rise of eight in the number of people working in this wing.

In the event, compared with 97,495 persons working in the finance ministry as of March 2008, the number will zoom to 127,810 by the end of this fiscal. But, if all goes well, there is likely to be freeze of sorts during 2009-10, with the projected increase put at just one, taking the total to 127,811.

However, the finance ministry is not the only one to enjoy this dubious distinction; it merely stands out among the 57-odd ministries and departments, which have gone on an employment spree during 2008-09.

As many as 15 of them have offered jobs to more than 1,000 persons each. Those who figure in this list are animal husbandry, dairying & fishing (1,168), atomic energy (2,300), mines (6,288), defence( civil —- 8,467), earth sciences (2,191), health and family welfare (3,735), home affairs (4,513), labour & employment (1,899) and personnel, public grievances & pensions (2,041).

The police have been beefed up by another 13,045 recruits and an even larger influx in to its ranks is likely next fiscal.

Another eight departments/ministries have enrolled more than 500 people with the ministry of information and broadcasting at the top with 926 fresh workers with space closely behind with a number of 798 added to its staff.

In the ensuing year, though the incremental growth is slated to fall to 42,793 crore, some departments like atomic energy, home affairs, and space, apart from police, will embark upon a recruitment spree.

But, there will be some shedding of the flab in the case of urban development and water resources, in addition to the department of posts. In a larger sense, the need to streamline the Central bureaucracy has never been more acutely felt now, with the government finances coming under stress.

As a result of the Pay Commission's recommendations, apart from the burden of arrears, there will be a recurrent burden on account of the dearness allowance going up in tandem with the inflation rate.

The pay and allowances are expected to burgeon to a staggering Rs 66,127 crore during 2009-10, and this is exclusive of the wage costs for defence personnel reckoned at around Rs 45,000 crore. Also, pension liability that is explicitly stated in the interim budget for the next fiscal is Rs 34,980 crore, which does not cover that of the Railways and the department of posts as these are treated as part of their operating expenses.

The fisc is hard put to fund the plan outlay with current consumption making a huge dent in to its revenue. A bloated bureaucracy only compounds this problem.

And, since the finance minister is averse to wielding the axe, will he be able to persuade the establishment to accept salary cuts in view of the budgetary constraints —- a course he recommends to the private sector.

S Gangadharan/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication