IAS shortfall at the Centre: Incorrect diagnosis, wrong remedy

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• The amendments proposed to Rule 6(1) of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) (Cadre) Rules of 1954, which seek to empower the Central government to unilaterally order the Central deputation of IAS officers without the consent of the State governments or the officers concerned, have provoked controversy.
• The Centre has justified them on the ground that the States are not meeting their Central Deputation Reserve (CDR) obligations.
  • As a result, Centre is suffering from an acute shortage of mid-level IAS officers, especially Deputy Secretaries and Directors.
• However all the States, including the BJP-ruled ones, not meeting CDR obligations indicates that their reluctance to forward names to the Centre is not the real problem.
• There can be simpler, more effective and less contentious solutions to the shortage than the proposed amendments.

In fact, once the root causes of the shortage are identified, the solutions suggest themselves.

Causes of shortage

• The first cause of the shortage was the drastic reduction in the annual recruitment of IAS officers after 1991 (from 140-160 to just 50-80) under the misguided notion that the government will have a reduced role due to economic liberalisation.
  • As of January 1, 2021, the shortage of IAS officers at the all-India level was 23%. The number of IAS officers recruited annually should be increased to around 200 for a few years as a short-term measure.
• The second cause is lackadaisical “cadre review”.
  • This is an exercise conducted jointly by the Centre and the States to designate certain strategic posts in the States as “cadre posts” and earmark them exclusively for IAS officers.
  • A proper cadre review in all the States will release many IAS officers from non-strategic posts and reduce the shortage. At the Centre, there is a strong case for downsizing the bloated Central Ministries dealing with subjects in the State List and the Concurrent List, thereby reducing the demand for IAS officers and the CDR obligations of the States.
• The third cause is the ill-advised discontinuance of direct recruitment of officers to the Central Secretariat Service Group B since 2000, and undue delays in the regular promotions of officers from the ranks in the Central Secretariat due to protracted litigation since 2011. These officers used to occupy a sizeable proportion of Deputy Secretary/Director-level posts in the Central Secretariat.
• The fourth cause is the complete non-utilisation by the Centre of the services of officers who are appointed to the IAS by promotion or selection from the State Civil Services.
  • This large pool of around 2,250 officers, usually in the age bracket of 35-55 years, who have immense field experience, remains State-bound.
  • It should be made mandatory for these officers to work for at least two years on Central deputation as Deputy Secretaries/Directors immediately after their appointment to the IAS and their training in Mussoorie.
  • Their next promotion in their State cadre should be subject to their completing this mandatory period of Central deputation. Officers who are over 50 years of age at the time of appointment may be exempted. This can solve the problem of shortage of Deputy Secretary/Director-level officers at the Centre in one stroke.
• The fifth cause is the numerous administrative barriers to Central deputation imposed by the Centre itself in the form of highly restrictive conditions, perverse incentives, annual lapsing of offer lists, long debarment periods, compulsory cooling-off periods, etc.
  • Expecting directly recruited IAS officers to work for at least two years as Deputy Secretaries/Directors between nine and 16 years of service for empanelment as Joint Secretaries at the Centre is unwise because this is precisely the phase when they are working in posts with good job content, power, prestige and perks. So, a large number of them do not go on Central deputation and fail to get empaneled as Joint Secretaries, which automatically eliminates them from future empanelment as Additional Secretaries and Secretaries.

Proposed solutions

• It should be made mandatory for directly recruited IAS officers to serve at least three years on Central deputation between nine and 25 years of service.
• Their promotion to Principal Secretary grade in their State cadre (usually after 25 years) should be subject to their completing this mandatory period of Central deputation.
  • This wider window will enable IAS officers to opt for Central deputation at their convenience and the Centre will also be assured of a steady, adequate supply of deputationists.
• The process of empanelment of IAS officers for the posts of Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary and Secretary (or their equivalent) at the Centre is criticized for being opaque and arbitrary.
  • The Centre should directly choose its Joint Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and Secretaries from among IAS officers “on offer” who are officiating in equivalent grades in State governments through a process of selection — in much the same manner as it chooses Deputy Secretaries/Directors. This will make a larger, better talent pool available to the Centre and enable officers to use the experience gained in the State at various levels in the service of the Centre.
• It should be noted that even if the proposed amendments come into force, States can still scuttle Central deputations by giving adverse performance assessments or foisting false disciplinary and vigilance cases against the officers.
• The shortfall in CDR obligations can be solved by a constructive dialogue between Cabinet Secretary and all the Chief Secretaries, or the Prime Minister holding a meeting with all the Chief Ministers.
• The Inter-State Council constituted under Article 263 of the Constitution is the institution meant specifically for handling such Centre-State situations before things get out of hand.

Conclusion

• India lost 60% of its civil servants during partition.
• Sardar Patel showed great sagacity and overcame the shortage within a few years by working with the provinces rather than against them.
• The sanctity of the principle of cooperative federalism and the interests of national unity and administrative efficiency demand nothing less.

The Hindu link

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/oped-on-simpler-solutions-to-solve-the-problem-of-fewer-ias-officers-at-the-centre/article65048510.ece

Question- The proposed amendments to Indian Administrative Service (IAS) (Cadre) Rules seeking unilateral powers for Central governments to order deputations of IAS officers is a challenge to cooperative federalism. Explain highlighting the issues and solutions for issue of IAS shortage at the centre.