THE GREAT RECRUITMENT MIRAGE: HOW KARNATAKA'S GOVERNMENT IS RUNNING ON EMPTY

 Karnataka’s unemployment crisis is no longer just an economic issue; it has become a symbol of a collapsing administrative state. Every few months, the government announces “thousands of new appointments” across departments, generating hope among the millions of unemployed youth who have waited years for a breakthrough. But these announcements, impressive as they sound, are nothing more than political theatre. They cost nothing, create temporary optimism, and buy time. Beyond that, they serve no purpose.

The hard truth is this: the state simply cannot afford to hire. Its finances are stretched thin by an explosion of unfunded welfare guarantees, mounting debt, pending bills, and neglected infrastructure. Salaries for existing employees take up more than the government can comfortably pay. As a result, recruitment has been quietly frozen, even as departments are starved of manpower.

Across the administration, anywhere between 60 to 70 percent of sanctioned posts lie vacant. This is not incidental; it is systemic. Departments that require engineers, inspectors, medical staff, teachers, and field officers are running on skeletal strength. A single officer handles the workload of five. Files do not move. Public grievances collect dust. Deadlines are missed because there is simply no one left to meet them. Gradually, the machinery of government begins to crack under its own weight, leaving citizens with a dysfunctional, unresponsive state.

To keep the system barely breathing, the government has found an escape route: contract labour. When the pressure becomes unbearable, contractors are hired to supply temporary staff. These workers are poorly paid, lack job security, and fall outside the framework of reservation, welfare schemes, and service protections. In effect, Karnataka has created a shadow workforce that performs core government functions without any of the safeguards that define public employment. The state looks functional from the outside, but inside, the foundations are hollowing out.

Why, then, continue the charade of mass recruitment announcements? Because political optics matter more than administrative honesty. Announcements generate positive headlines. Silence exposes failure. It is easier to promise jobs than to admit fiscal bankruptcy.

The root cause lies in reckless spending, particularly on large-scale guarantee schemes that draw thousands of crores without corresponding revenue growth. Karnataka has locked itself into obligations it cannot sustain, leaving no money for essential governance.

The way out is politically unpalatable but unavoidable: a serious fiscal correction, transparent manpower audit, and an independent recruitment calendar backed by firm budgetary allocations. Someone in power must have the courage to say what everyone already knows — governance cannot survive on freebies and announcements. It needs actual staff, actual money, and actual commitment. Until then, Karnataka will continue drifting toward administrative collapse, powered by the great recruitment mirage.