Intake of Group ‘A’ officers from IAS, IPS, IRS, etc. to the centre through promotions has dropped by 50% in the last 4 years. From a high of 5,953 in 2016, the number came down to 2,918 in 2018.
All central government posts starting from the Deputy Secretary and above are filled through promotions from the IAS, IPS, IRS, etc, while some are taken directly through the lateral entry scheme.
Officials in the DoPT said the reduction could partly be attributed to on-going court cases, fewer retirements, etc, but the drop of over 50 per cent could not be explained. The UPSC says its role in promotion of group ‘A’ officers is only advisory in nature, and only the government can explain the reduction in these numbers.
The government has also been reducing the number of civil servants being recruited by the UPSC.
Ironically the drastic reduction in promotions comes at a time when there are massive vacancies in the central government. The government is looking to scale up its lateral entry scheme, which seeks to tap private talent for domain expertise.
