India's gross domestic product or GDP contracted 23.9 per cent (Representational)
The Department of Expenditure circular issued on Friday to curb official spending amid an economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, does not affect or curtail recruitment for government jobs, the Centre clarified on Saturday, hours after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi tweeted on the row.
"The Dept. of Expenditure circular dated 04 Sept 2020 deals with internal procedure for creation of posts and does NOT in any way affect or curtail recruitment," the Ministry of Finance tweeted to clarify some points of the circular.
"There is no restriction or ban on filling up of posts in Govt of India. Normal recruitments through govt agencies like Staff Selection Commission, UPSC, Rlwy Recruitment Board, etc will continue as usual without any curbs," it adds.
In the circular, dated September 4, the Department of Expenditure, which comes under the Ministry of Finance, banned some non-developmental expenditures to "ensure availability of adequate resources for meeting the needs of critical priority schemes".
The Centre, in the document, also announced "a ban on creation of new posts, except with the approval of Department of Expenditure, in Ministries/Departments, Attached Offices, Subordinate Offices, Statutory Bodies and Autonomous Bodies."
Mr Gandhi, who has been critical of the Centre's handling of the coronavirus situation, had slammed the government over the circular.
"The Modi government's thinking is minimum government, maximum privatisation. Covid is just an excuse, the government's plan is to free government offices of all permanent staff, steal the youth's future and propel his own friends forward," Mr Gandhi said in a Hindi tweet, sharing a news report.
India's gross domestic product or GDP contracted 23.9 per cent in the April-June period - much worse than economists' estimates, official data showed last month, as the coronavirus pandemic brought key industries to a halt and rendered millions jobless.