After its proposal to amend the All India Service Rules that would allow it to call any IAS, IPS or IFoS officer on central deputation with or without the state’s consent, the Centre has issued another order on central deputation of Deputy Inspector General-level IPS officers.

What is the order?

• The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has said that IPS officers coming to the Centre at DIG level would no longer be required to be empanelled at that level with the Union Government.
• According to existing rules, a DIG-ranked IPS officer with a minimum experience of 14 years could only be deputed to the Centre if the Police Establishment Board empanelled them as DIGs at the Centre.
• The board chooses the panel on the basis of officers’ career and vigilance records.
• Only Superintendent of Police-level officers do not require empanelment at the Centre.
• The new order makes the entire pool of DIG-level officers in a state eligible for central deputation.

Why has it been issued?

Ans. Huge Vacancies

• The move is aimed at increasing the pool of DIG-level IPS officers for central deputation in the backdrop of massive vacancies in central police organisations (CPOs) and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).
• Out of 252 posts reserved for IPS officers at DIG level at the Centre, 118 (almost half) are vacant.
• IPS officers have a quota of 40% in CPOs and CAPFs.

How will the move help?

• The idea is to ease up the process of central deputation as verification of records takes a long time.
• Also, it increases the size of the pool of officers available to the Centre.

So why would states have a problem?

Ans. Relieving the Officers

• States would have to be willing to relieve these officers.
• The new order may be seen by many states as the Centre’s attempt at pushing the envelope further on increasing its powers over officers serving in the states.
• With these orders, the Centre would have powers to demand, within a stipulated time frame, a certain quota of officers from the state for central deputation.
• It may also call any IAS officer on central deputation in “public interest”.
• In case the state failed to relieve the officer, he/she would be deemed relieved following the date fixed.

Why don’t states relieve officers?

Ans. Vacancy in states

• There is a serious paucity of officers in the states too.
• In a cost-cutting move during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime, the size of IPS batches among other government staff was reduced even though sizeable vacancies existed even then.
• From 80-90 officers each, IPS batches were cut to 35-40 officers (in 1999-2002, the average was 36).
• The average attrition rate of IPS officers due to superannuation is 85 per year.
• The strength of IAS officers too had been impacted due to low intake during the 1990s.

How has this impacted the services?

• The anomaly in IPS recruitment adversely affected cadre management over the years.
• At some levels, there are fewer officers than sanctioned posts, while at others there is a glut. For example, UP has a shortage of DIGs and IGs, but too many officers at the level of ADGs.

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