The Defence Ministry has 3,782 and 34,289 vacant posts for group A and group B officers, respectively, Union minister Shripad Naik informed the Rajya Sabha.
The Minister of State for Defence said there are 2.01 lakh vacancies in other categories in the ministry.
In a written reply to a question, he said there are 6,867 vacancies for posts of officers in the Indian Army, 1,500 in Navy and 425 in Air Force.
In Army, 36,517 vacancies are for post of junior commissioned officers and other ranks, Naik told the Rajya Sabha.
"The government has taken a number of measures to reduce the shortages. These include sustained image projection, participation in career fairs and exhibitions and publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career," he said.