In a rare departure from the established pattern of promotions in the civil services, the Modi government has cleared the elevation of 2001 batch IRS (Income Tax) officers to the rank of Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr. CIT) in Level 15 of the Pay Matrix (₹1,82,200 – ₹2,24,100).
As many as 20 officers from the 2001 batch have been promoted, even as empanelment of IAS officers from the same batch for the equivalent Additional Secretary rank (Level 15) is yet to begin. Traditionally, IAS officers are the first to be empanelled at this senior level, followed by officers from other services.
In fact, only in March 2025, the government empanelled 15 IAS officers of the 2000 batch as Additional Secretaries, followed by one more in June 2025. The early promotion of 2001 batch IRS officers, therefore, has come as a surprise across bureaucratic circles.
According to sources, the decision required intervention at the highest level, as the promotion file had been pending across multiple offices before being expedited. It is also learnt that the process may have been hastened as one officer from the batch is reportedly planning to seek voluntary retirement (VRS) to enter electoral politics.
The promoted officers of the 2001 batch IRS (IT) cadre are: Sanjay Dhariwal, Dharam Veer Singh, Sujit Kumar, Monika Dhami, Neelam Shukla, Satyasai Rath, P. Praveen Siddharth, Susan Thomas, A.S. Kumbhar, Manish Sareen, Dr. Sanjay Kumar Lal, Prakash Dubey, Vijay Kumar Jaiswal, Vijay Babu Vasanta, Pradeep Kumar Meel, Rajib Jain, R. Clement Ramesh Kumar, Deshmukh S. Vishwas Rao, K. Meghnath Chowhan, and Mudavathu N. Murthy Naik.
This development marks an unprecedented precedence for IRS officers over their IAS counterparts in promotions to Pay Level 15, reshaping expectations in the service hierarchy. (By-Rajeev Singh)
Also Read: 45 IRS-IT officers promoted as Principal Commissioners of Income Tax
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