New Delhi: As many as 41,177 positions, or 5 percnet of all sanctioned employment in public sector banks, were vacant as on December 1 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Public Sector Banks have more than 8,05,986 sanctioned positions (PSBs). According to official data, the State Bank of India (SBI) has the most vacant positions among the banks, with 8,544.

The minister replied to a query in the Lok Sabha about whether the government is aware of the fact that the PSBs are suffering from a severe staff shortage, preventing them from doing their tasks adequately. The minister added that as of December 1, this year, 95 percent of the sanctioned personnel strength was in place, citing inputs from the PSBs, adding that the small number of vacancies is largely due to attrition due to superannuation and other customary circumstances.

"As of 1.12.2021, there are 8,05,986 sanctioned posts in Public Sector Banks and 41,177 vacant posts," says the report. In a written response, Sitharaman stated. Officer, clerk and sub-staff are the three types of positions available. There are a total of 12 PSBs. Punjab National Bank has 6,743 vacant positions, compared to 8,544 for SBI. There were 6,295 open positions at the Central Bank of India, followed by 5,112 at the Indian Overseas Bank and 4,848 at the Bank of India. At SBI, there were 3,423 vacant officer positions and 5,121 unfilled clerk positions. Except for one post in the Punjab & Sind Bank in 2016, Sitharaman said that no post or vacancy has been abolished in the PSBs in the recent six years.

Finance Minister calls huge toxic waste 'threat' for India

RBI, crypto industry bodies mulls steps to regulate, track crypto trading

Govt to introduce bill on cryptocurrencies soon, Nirmala Sitharaman reveals the plan