The Government said on Wednesday that it has accorded highest priority to getting permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and is actively engaged in the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations on UNSC reform.
In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said India is working alongside other reform-oriented countries through its membership in the G-4 Group (India, Japan, Brazil and Germany) and the L.69 Group, a cross-regional grouping of developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America to build support among the UN member states for expansion of the UN Security Council.
“Government of India has accorded highest priority to getting permanent membership for India in an expanded United Nations Security Council. A series of initiatives, involving bilateral and multilateral platforms, have been undertaken by the Government in pursuance of this objective. India is actively engaged in the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations on UNSC reform at the UN,” Muraleedharan said.
The Government informed the Lok Sabha that over 6.84 lakh posts were vacant in different departments under it.
Of the total sanctioned strength of 38.02 lakh, 31.18 lakh were filled as on March 1, 2018, leaving 6.84 lakh posts vacant, according to a written reply by Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh.
“Vacancies in Central Government are caused due to retirement, death, promotion, et cetera and the posts falling vacant are required to be filled as per recruitment rules by Ministries, Departments or Organisations concerned,” he said.
In another reply, he said the Staff Selection Commission has planned to conduct examinations to fill up the 1,03,266 vacancies reported by various ministries during the years 2019 and 2020.
Railway Board has notified five centralised employment notifications in 2018-19 for new and future vacancies likely to arise in two years, covering 1,56,138 vacancies, the Minister said.
The Indian Air Force lost 27 aircraft, including 15 fighter jets and helicopters, in crashes since 2016, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said in the Lok Sabha.
The quantum of provisional loss in 11 cases of crashes was approximately Rs 524.64 crore, he said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
In 2016-17 fiscal, six IAF fighter jets, two helicopters, one transport aircraft and one trainer crashed. In 2017-18, the air force lost two fighter jets and one trainer aircraft in crashes.
The number rose sharply in 2018-19 with the IAF losing seven fighter jets, two helicopters and two trainers.
This included the crash of the MiG-21 fighter jet which was being piloted by Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman during a dog-fight with Pakistan Air Force planes on February 27.
On the same day, an Mi-17 helicopter also crashed killing six air force personnel. In 2019-20, so far, an AN-32 transport aircraft crashed in Arunachal Pradesh, killing 13 air force personnel earlier this month.