Manmohan Singh rejects the proposal to increase cooling off period for retiring bureaucrats

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has come to the rescue of civil servants by nixing a proposal that made it harder for retiring bureaucrats to join corporates.

In a relief to bureaucrats looking for private jobs after hanging their boots, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rejected his junior minister’s proposal to increase the cooling off period for retiring bureaucrats from the existing one year to two years. In light of the 2G spectrum allocation scam turning an unflattering spotlight on the tendency of bureaucrats joining the private sector soon after their retirement with whom they dealt with while in service, Minister of State for Personnel, V Narayanasamy, had suggested to the government that the cooling off period for babus taking up private employment should be increased to two years from the present limit of one year. The ministry has now informed a parliamentary committee that the suggestion has been rejected by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“In regard to the suggestion of regulation of post-retirement employment for a period of two years instead of the existing one year, it may be mentioned that the issue was proposed earlier as desired by the minister of state (personnel). However, the prime minister has not approved the proposal. It was conveyed to this department that ‘the existing policy’ for post-retirement employment in respect of All India Services officers may be continued,” the parliamentary panel report tabled in Parliament earlier this week said. Narayanasamy confirmed to ET that the “proposal has been shelved”.

Also, the government is not interested in introducing any cooling off period for bureaucrats to join politics, in light of top babus like RK Singh and Hardeep Puri joining the BJP. “No such proposal is being considered either,” the minister said.