In its January 12 letter, the DoPT said that despite the existing provisions, the states are not sponsoring sufficient number of officers for central deputation and the officers available are not sufficient to meet the requirements.
the story So Far: Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) Sent a letter to all the states on 12 January He sought his opinion on the proposal to amend Rule 6 (Deputation of Cadre Officers) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954. Similar letters were also sent proposing changes to the cadre rules of the other two All India Services (AIS): the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service (IFoS). Through the amendments, the central government plans to acquire the power to depute IAS/IPS and IFoS officers to the central government and ministries without taking the permission of the state government. After the All India Services Act, 1951 came into existence, the IAS Cadre Rules were made in 1954.
What changes are proposed?
Four amendments are proposed, including two new insertions. First, states should provide the names of officers who are part of the Central Deputation Reserve (CDR) who can be deputed to the Centre. The proposed amendment states, “The actual number of officers to be deputed to the Central Government shall be decided by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government concerned.” The CDR cannot exceed 40% of the actual strength at any point of time.
As per the extant norms, states are required to depute AIS officers to central government offices and at any point of time this cannot exceed 40% of the total cadre strength.
The second change will be decided by the Central Government in case of any disagreement between the Center and the State and the State will implement the Centre’s decision “within a specified time”. The “Specified Time” section is a new insert.
Third and one of the major changes proposed is that if the state government delays posting a state cadre officer to the center and does not implement the decision of the central government within the specified time, the officer will be removed from the cadre from that date. shall be relieved as may be specified by the Central Government.” At present, officers have to obtain no-objection clearance from the State Government.
The fourth change is that in a specific situation where the services of cadre officers are required by the central government in the “public interest”, the state will give effect to its decisions within a specified time.
What step did you take?
In its January 12 letter, the DoPT said that despite the existing provisions, the states are not sponsoring sufficient number of officers for central deputation and the officers available are not sufficient to meet the requirements. In similar communications sent on December 20, December 27 and January 6 before the letter, the DoPT had sought comments from the states. Half a dozen states opposed the move and the rest did not respond; It revised the proposal and the states have been given time till January 25 to respond. In 2021 and 2020, the DoPT sent letters to states warning that not sending enough officers could impact future cadre review proposals and that it was unable to fill vacancies at the director and joint secretary level in various central ministries.
Is the problem acute?
As per 2021 figures, out of the total 6,709 IAS officers in the country, 445 were posted in the Union – only 6.6%. In 2014, out of 4,605 officers, 651 were posted in the union (14%).
In 2021, only 10% of mid-level IAS officers (Deputy Secretaries/Directors, 9-14 years of experience) were posted with the Center in 2021, a sharp drop from 19% in 2014, even though the total pool of such officers remains at this The rank increased from 621 in 2014 to 1130 in 2021, an increase of about 80%.
Why are states opposing the changes?
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written two letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it is against the “spirit of cooperative federalism”. Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan Chief Ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot have also written letters to Mr. Modi. Before any AIS officer is called for Central deputation, his consent is required. Establishment Officer in DoPT invites nominations from State Governments. Once nominations are received, their eligibility is scrutinized by a panel and then a proposal list is prepared, usually with the state government. Central ministries and offices can then choose from a list of officers on offer. AIS officers are recruited by the union and are lent to the states. The publication of the proposal list on DoPT’s website was stopped by the government in 2018 amid reports that several state government officials were unwilling to move to the Centre.
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