Centre modifies Joint Secretary-level empanelment process for IAS officers

NEW DELHI: The Centre has modified its Joint Secretary-level empanelment process for officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and other Group A services, allowing them to raise specific concerns regarding arbitrary downgrading of their appraisals among others.

"With a view to ensure greater uniformity, consistency and transparency in the empanelment process, the competent authority has decided that officers who wish to represent specific concern regarding their performance appraisal over the years which would be relevant for assessing their suitability for empanelment may be permitted to do so at the initial stage itself," an official order said.

This would include issues such as arbitrary downgrading of the overall grade, mismatch between grading and pen-picture (overall assessment of officer by reporting officer), missing Annual Confidential Reports, assessments recorded for periods less than three months, assessment recorded long after due date, etc., it said.

"Whenever any batch of officers is to be taken up for empanelment as Joint Secretary, the state governments are expected to inform the officers about the ensuing empanelment process and representations received, if any, are to be sent to the office of Establishment Officer for placing them before the experts panel," an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

The state governments have been asked to bring the new norms to officers working under them, it said.