HOW IAS OFFICERS ARE PUT ON CENTRAL DEPUTATION

May 31, 2021

West Bengal Chief Secretary Bandyopadhyay, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, was due to begin an extension of three months after retiring. Instead, the Centre has asked him to join the Government of India.

How officers get an extension

  • Rule 16(1) of DCRB (Death-cum-Retirement Benefit) Rules says that “a member of the Service dealing with budget work or working as a full-time member of a Committee may be given extension of service for three months, with the prior approval of the Central Government”.

  • For an officer posted as Chief Secretary of a state, this extension can be for six months.

Central deputation

  • In normal practice, the Centre asks every year for an “offer list” of officers of the All India Services (IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service) willing to go on central deputation, after which it selects officers from that list.

  • Rule 6(1) of the IAS Cadre Rules says an officer may, “with the concurrence of the State Governments concerned and the Central Government, be deputed for service under the Central Government or another State Government…”

  • It says “in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government and the State Government or State Governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government.”