In a move aimed at expanding the pool of eligible candidates for senior administrative roles at the Centre, the central government has modified its empanelment policy for Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers. The revised policy now allows officers with at least two years of experience at the under-secretary level — in addition to deputy secretary or director — to be considered for empanelment at the Joint Secretary (JS) level.
According to an office memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on May 7, 2025, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the change. “In partial modification of the earlier directives … the ACC has now directed that the Central Deputation experience of not less than two years at under-secretary/deputy secretary/director or equivalent level shall be mandatory for empanelment at joint secretary level at the Centre in respect of IAS officers from 2010 batch onwards,” the order said.
This latest modification is intended to make central deputation more accessible for IAS officers serving in the states and encourage wider participation in policymaking at the Union level. By including under-secretary-level experience in the eligibility criteria, the government aims to give officers an earlier opportunity to begin their stint at the Centre, thereby easing the pathway to JS-level empanelment.
Notably, this builds upon an earlier reform introduced in 2020. At the time, the government made it mandatory for IAS officers from the 2007 batch and onwards to have at least two years’ experience at the Centre as deputy secretary or director in order to be eligible for JS-level empanelment. The 2020 policy marked a major shift from the previous system, where officers could be directly posted as joint secretaries from their state cadres without prior central government experience.
The new rule reflects the government’s continued effort to institutionalize central deputation as a structured career path, while also ensuring that officers posted in key policy positions at the Centre are equipped with adequate experience in Union government functioning.
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