Setting in motion the recruitment process of 50,000 government posts during the current fiscal, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved the restructuring of 10 government departments — paving way for boosting their functional efficacy through fresh recruitments and technical upgradation.

The Cabinet meeting, held through video conferencing under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, decided to create new and more relevant posts where required in place of the existing non-essential or antiquated ones, many of which had been lying vacant for prolonged periods.

The move also marks a major shift towards modernisation of government departments to equip them to meet the contemporary operational challenges, “The present-day challenges necessitated cutting the tail where necessary, with recruitment of more staff as needed, keeping in mind the service delivery of various departments,” said the Chief Minister who was authorized, by the Cabinet, to amend rules as and where needed to carry out the proposed recruitment after completion of the restructuring process.

Notably, the Cabinet had, on October 14, approved a State Employment Plan 2020-22 to fill vacant jobs in government departments, boards, corporations, and agencies in a phased time-bound manner, in fulfillment of the Chief Minister’s promise of providing one lakh government jobs to youth in the remaining term of his Government.

As per the cabinet decision, 10 Departments — including Labour; Technical Education and Industrial Training; PWD (B&R); Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development; Tourism and Cultural Affairs; Local Government; Printing and Stationery; Sports and Youth Service Welfare; Defence Services Welfare; and Cooperation Department — would be restructured.